Study medical biotechnology at IMU
ANDREW Octavian Sasmita started his studies in medical biotechnology at the International Medical University (IMU) in 2014.
He shared with us his experience of studying this programme.
“Three years of being a part of the Medical Biotechnology (MB) programme has truly been a great journey for us within the MB1/14 cohort. The programme itself saw many field visits to relevant industries at a rate that no other programmes could match up to. We visited the Tissue Culture Labs of Hospital UKM, Yakult Factory in Port Dickson, but my favourite would have to be our visit to the Malaysian Genome Institute (MGI) in Kajang,” he said.
The MB1/14 students also assisted in holding IMU’s first Science Discovery Challenge event in 2015 whereby high school students were given a platform to compete on their basic knowledge in science to promote interest in the field of science.
“In our final year of academic studies, we conducted a field visit to SJK(C) Salak South to gather biological samples across the communal spaces within the school. These samples were then processed to extract the potentially harmful bacterial components and characterise them via microbiological and molecular techniques. This community service project allowed us to give back to the community the best we knew how,” said Sasmita.
“The curriculum is solid and intensive, especially coming into the second year whereby more of the modules transitioned into core biotechnology modules, which are essential within our field of studies.
We study topics ranging from microbiology, pathology, immunology, cancer biotechnology and even bioprocess engineering to strengthen our foundation, especially for the coming years where we are going to be employed,” he added.
A unique component of MB is the Graduate Employability, Adaptability and Reshaping (GEAR) programme.
It is a collaborative effort between IMU and Bioeconomy Corporation that outlines a series of training workshop sessions for students of Semesters 3 and 5, which cover communication skills, teamwork and general business and entrepreneurial spirit.
The MB1/14 cohort also had the privilege to attend the BioMalaysia event annually to familiarise themselves with the present statuses of biotechnology-related industries.
According to Sasmita, these efforts could not have been made possible if there wasn’t a great team of lecturers who work strenuously not only to teach the students but to improve themselves as better functional members of society.
Sasmita is currently undergoing an industrial training at the Cancer Research Malaysia under the Head and Neck Cancer team.
“Given all the knowledge that has been imbued during my time in IMU, I couldn’t be more excited to face what’s coming my way,” he said.
At IMU, the curriculum of its medical biotechnology degree is developed to meet international standards and is accepted by renowned international partner universities (University of Newcastle, Australia or University of Strathclyde, UK) for credit transfer into relevant programmes.
Students can also opt to complete the entire degree at IMU.
IMU is the first Malaysian university to provide a complete and specialised undergraduate training in medical biotechnology.
Its MB programme exposes students to industrial attachments locally or abroad, giving them the opportunity to gain valuable industrial experience and the required skills to be ready for employment. This would also give them a distinct and an added advantage in their career.
Graduates of these degrees can undertake postgraduate degrees in any related disciplines.
The next commencement date for this programme is in July. If you have pre-university qualifications and an interest in medical biotechnology, apply now for an excellent start to a promising and rewarding career.
If you have just completed your Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and do not have pre-university qualification, consider enrolling in the one-year IMU Foundation in Science (FiS), the preferred foundation and direct route for entry into any of the university’s local degree programmes.
■ For more information, log on to www.imu.edu.my, e-mail start@imu.edu.my or call 03-2731 7272.