IBMS Executive Head of Education Sue Jones and IBMS President Elect Joanna Andrew visited Malaysia to review biomedical science degree programmes, talk with students, and meet some of the country’s IBMS Accredited education providers.
Sue and Joanna’s itinerary started off with a visit to the International Medical University on Tuesday 8 August, where they met with the mostly female-led academic team and had the opportunity to talk with the Vice Chancellor. Joanna commented: “We were made to feel very welcome and had interesting discussions with the team about how they deliver their programme in the context of biomedical science topics relevant to Malaysia and their healthcare system.” Sue’s talk later the same day also prompted a lot of questions and interest from university students, many of whom are keen to move to work in the UK.
Following this, Sue and Joanna paid a visit to Professor RM Noah, the enthusiastic individual responsible for spearheading the IBMS Accredited course at the Universiti Kula Lumpur (MesTech), and they also met the Dean to discuss the future of the degree programme. The Dean brought to light their desire to establish a regional network of IBMS Accredited education providers in Malaysia.
The next two days were spent visiting the University of Nottingham’s Malaysian campus, with its particularly beautiful campus buildings and grounds, the Universiti Kebangsaan, noted for its predominantly female board of staff, and the Management and Science University (MSU), where the team were interested in learning how to engage further with the IBMS to maintain their good practices.
“The team were so welcoming and so open and engaged with the process of IBMS degree accreditation. All suggestions and recommendations were well received,” said Joanna.
At all institutions, Sue and Joanna were made to feel very welcome, and they met several young, talented scientists who were very keen supporters of the IBMS.
Following the success of this trip, the IBMS would like to extend thanks to everyone in Kuala Lumpur who made Sue and Joanna’s visit so fruitful and informative. We plan to continue supporting all institutions worldwide that provide IBMS Accredited degree programmes to ensure we are doing everything we can to support future generations of biomedical scientists.
Image credit | IBMS