University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City (UMP) visits NCKU to Discuss Academic Collaboration and Medical Talent Cultivation
Written by NCKU Office of Internation Affairs. Image credit to NCKU News Center.
National Cheng Kung University has been remaining long and close partnerships with plenty of Southeast Asian universities. In addition to the various joint research programs and the SATU President's Forum, NCKU has also launched overseas hubs to promote international academic collaboration. On October 23rd, a delegation of professors from University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City (UMP), a partner school which NCKU has frequent exchanges with and where the NCKU’s Vietnam Overseas Hub is located, led by President Ngo Quoc Dat, visited NCKU. The two institutions discussed issues such as research collaborations, student exchange programs, and training of resident doctors.
Delegation from University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City (UMP) visited NCKU. Representatives from both universities discussed academic collaboration and exchanged experiences in cultivating healthcare professionals.
Executive Vice President of NCKU, Dr. Hong-Chen Chen pointed out, the two universities signed the Memorandum of Understanding and established a joint research center in 2017. In addition to international seminars, the two onstitutions have already had more than 20 co-authored publications over the past five years, mainly in areas of Medicine (66.7%), Biochemistry (16.7%), and Neuroscience (16.7%). Last year, a delegation of NCKU led by President Meng-Ru Shen also visited UMP and had fruitful discussions with UMP’s executive board as well as representatives from different faculties, which reinforced partnership between the two institutions. This time, many of the NCKU professors of the medical school also attended the meeting, looking to expand areas and methods of collaboration jointly.
President Ngo Quoc Dat of University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City mentioned during his remarks that, established in 1947, UMP is a university with rich history and culture which simultaneously thrives towards globalization. NCKU is one of its important international partners, and the two institutions have been working closely together since the signing of the MoU. President Ngo expects to promote mutual progress in academia and industry through continuous exchanges and visits.
Formerly the well-known Saigon University of Medicine, UMP not only possesses a variety of advanced medical devices and teaching equipment, its 8 faculties including the faculty of medicines, the faculty of pharmacy, and the faculty of Odonto-Stomatology altogether provide courses of 14 specialties, making UMP southern Vietnam’s crucial institution in fostering healthcare professionals. Over the years, it has already cultivated around 18,600 doctors of medical science and 10,000 pharmacists.
Assoc. Prof. Chia-Hsiang Lin, Director of International Relations Division from NCKU then gave the distinguished guests an overview of NCKU’s history and academic highlights, along with its featured colleges and centers including the Academy of Innovative Semiconductor and Sustainable Manufacturing (AISSM) and the Center for Quantum Frontier of Research and Technology (QFort). He also emphasized NCKU’s remarkable performances in world rankings, rate of patents licensed, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), etc. In addition to the fact that Vietnam is a major source of NCKU’s international students, Director Lin added, both universities share medical expertise in common, an increase of exchanges and collaboration could therefore be anticipated.
Moving on, NCKU’s Prof. Chun Hei Antonio Cheung, Vice Convener of the International Affairs Committee, College of Medicine, provided a more thorough introduction to the college of medicine, including its various departments and degree programs, and the distinguishing units and facilities, such as NCKU's internationally renowned Center of Infectious Disease and Signaling Research, International Center for Wound Repair and Regeneration, and Center of Applied Nanomedicine. Prof. Cheung also shared the diverse international exchanges between the college of medicine and its global partners, and further explained how the implementation of Artificial Intelligence Virtual Reality Classrooms and Surgical Skills Development Center in recent years have greatly enhanced efficiency in both teaching and learning.
Chair Prof. Yan-Shen Shan, Dean of NCKU’s College of Medicine also brought out the several key researches in the college lately and how the existing student exchange program between NCKU and UMP can be further prompted. He also highlighted the plenty English-taught courses the college offers, and hopes that more exchanges with UMP can be boosted. Chair Prof. Sun-Yuan Hsieh, Vice President for International Affairs, NCKU explained that NCKU and UMP’s joint research center is also where NCKU’s Vietnam Overseas Hub is located at, which plays a vital role in NCKU’s overseas recruitment and collaboration with Vietnamese institutions. Chair Prof. Hsieh mentioned that there are currently more than 3,400 international students in NCKU; in addition to degree programs, various short-term and flexible programs like the summer schools are also offered here. Scholars and students no matter from the UMP or any part of the world are more than welcomed to participate in.
Representatives of both universities in front of NCKU’s Banyan Park.
During the meeting, representatives from the two universities also discussed about the potential cooperation models. Besides collaboration in student / faculty exchange programs, MS, PhD & residency training, and co-organizing scientific workshops & seminars, experiences in academia-industry collaboration were also shared. NCKU representatives who attended the meeting also included Prof. Pei-Chen Lee, Director of Dept. of Public Health, and Prof. Tze-Ta Huang, Director, School of Dentistry. Afterwards, UMP delegates visited NCKU’s College of Medicine, where they had more in-depth discussions and exchanges with scholars from the college, before going on to visit the Artificial Intelligence Virtual Reality Classrooms and see the AI equipment of the Dept. of Cell Biology and Anatomy. The delegation finally ended their visit at NCKU's Medical Device Innovation Center with the guide and introduction of Chair Prof. Fong-Chin Su from Dept. of Biomedical Engineering. Views on digital medicine, precision medicine, and application of AI in medical education were exchanged.
Provider:
NCKU News Center
Date:
2024-10-29
