AUCMS Planning Large Satellite Campus in Kulim Hi-Tech Park

AUCMS Planning Large Satellite Campus in Kulim Hi-Tech Park

News Straits Times
By Looi Soo Chern
24 April 2011

THE Allianze University College of Medical Science (AUCMS) in Kepala Batas, Penang, has its own way of doing things. Adopting the best practices of other medical schools worldwide, AUCMS' medical programmes are unique.

The programmes are carefully planned and structured to ensure students are taught and trained in everything they need to know to excel in their selected disciplines, may it be medicine or allied health science fields such as nursing, pharmacy and physiotherapy.

At AUCMS, the study of medicine is both local and international, in the sense that students undergo their pre-clinical and clinical years here while having the option of going abroad for short clinical training stints.

The arrangement is to ensure that students receive a quality assured medical education, which is under the close watch of the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC).
AUCMS president Datuk Dr Zainuddin Wazir said it was necessary for aspiring medical students to understand that there were many issues with studying medicine abroad such as the foreign learning and training environment, and language and cultural barriers, apart from economic factors.

He said it was not true that medical students must pursue their first degrees overseas, and that graduates from abroad were always better than those who pursued their medical education and training locally.

'The medical programmes in some countries are not up to the standards set by MMC, which explains why some housemen can't perform basic procedures like injecting patients in hospitals.

'Students who choose to study locally can be assured of the standards observed here. Overseas exposure can always be pursued when they decide to further their studies to the postgraduate level,' said Dr Zainuddin.

He said he himself along with AUCMS vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Mohamad Abd Razak and medical faculty Dean Dr Badrul Akmal Hisham Md Yusoff obtained their first degrees locally.

With the objective of giving students the best of both worlds, AUCMS offers twinning medical degree programmes with Indonesia's Universitas Sumatera Utara (MD-USU), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (MD-UKM), University College Cork, Ireland (MD-UCC), and National University of Ireland, Galway (MD-NUIG), as well as its very own MD- AUCMS.

AUCMS is planning to offer the MD-USU degree 100 per cent locally at its new RM15 million campus in Kangar, Perlis.

Students taking the five-year programme will be able to undergo their pre-clinical studies in Malaysia instead of spending three- and-a-half years at USU in Medan, Indonesia.

Dr Zainuddin said the USU senate had evaluated AUCMS' teaching standards and facilities and hopefully in two years, the degree could be done here completely.
'Next year will be the 10th year we are offering the MD-USU. It is time to move things here. We are now pending approval from the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) and if all goes well, we may be able to start in September this year in our existing campus in Kepala Batas first,' he said, adding that even though it was an Indonesian medical degree, the standard was high and the marketability of MD-USU holders have never been an issue.

He said AUCMS would soon be unveiling the Kangar campus, which would house laboratories, medical clinics, teaching facilities and accommodations for over 150 students and lecturers.

On the MD-UKM degree, which AUCMS was offering for the second year, Dr Zainuddin said AUCMS students had been showing very encouraging results, performing as well as their UKM peers.

Its first batch of 33 students were now in their clinical year, training in the Kulim Hospital, Kepala Batas Hospital and Alor Star Hospital.

AUCMS also has big plans for its MD-UKM programme, with a large satellite campus in the Kulim Hi-Tech Park in Kedah in the pipeline.

The site for the campus has been identified and the premises will host the university-college's laboratory research activities.

'We are also planning to relocate some of our faculties to the new campus, which we hope can start running in September,' he said.

On the new MD-AUCMS degree, Dr Zainuddin said it was a unique programme, which offered students here international exposure through clinical attachments, elective postings and transfer programmes at medical institutions in Russia, India, the Middle East, Australia and the United Kingdom.

'We allow our students to select which countries they want to go for their clinical training for a period as short as one month or as long as three to six months to learn all they can about the medical scenario overseas for the advancement of their studies and careers,' he said.

A flexible programme, the MD-AUCMS is also open to mature students, who already hold degrees in other fields like engineering but are interested to pursue medicine.
Credit transfers are also accepted at AUCMS for those who wish to move to the university-college from other schools including those from overseas to pursue medicine.
'For those who decide to stop half-way in our MD-AUCMS programme, they will not leave empty-handed. They will be awarded a diploma but if they undergo six months of industrial training, they will obtain a degree,' he said.