Doses of activity for med students
aLL work and no play do not make the best doctors, Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia (NUMed) believes. Thus, a dynamic Student Council has been set up to enrich life for undergraduates.
NUMed ensures that all students enjoy a vibrant social, sporting and cultural offering to complement the British University’s stateof-the-art branch campus based at EduCity@ Iskandar in Johor.
Based on the model of student government at the Medical School at Newcastle University UK, NUMed Malaysia’s student council coordinates and finances co-curricular activities and entertainment. Since its establishment in September last year, more than 20 new student societies, clubs and organisations have been set up.
The university has participated in competitions such as Avicenna, the inter-medical varsity tournament, where NUMed’s netball team finished third.
The Footsal Club and NUMed Basketball Association have gone from strength to strength and are targetting victory at the next event. Tennis and taekwondo clubs are thriving as well.
The highly anticipated EduCity sports complex is set for completion by August. The complex that caters to the the multivarsity EduCity includes an outdoor arena and pitches for field sports and athletics, an indoor arena and facilities for sports such as badminton and volleyball, a gymnasium and a 50m swimming pool.
A number of medically related clubs and societies have also been set up by the students at NUMed. The Academic Medicine Society had an exciting start to the year when it hosted renowned Yale University professor Frederick Altice, who gave an insightful presentation about the interface between infectious diseases and substance abuse in vulnerable populations.
The society is also planning a medicine conference later this year and will invite med- ical university students from around Malaysia to attend seminars from leading international medical professionals.
Not forgetting cultural and ethnic roots, NUMed has celebrated the Winter Solstice and Deepavali, besides a cheese and wine tasting session.
NUMed’s peer-parenting system provides every new student with a “family” of senior students who provide an instant social network. They are also available to offer advice and guidance as an alternative to the pastoral support provided by the student’s personal tutor.
On top of an active campus environment, societies such as Voltage, the Volunteer to Aspire Generation, see the students getting out and about in the local community. Members of Voltage spend one day every week helping out at a local orphanage. This encourages students to understand how medicine is more than simply science.
Students are also regularly exposed to the clinical setting during the syllabus. As early as week two into the programme, students are introduced to local hospitals and clinics. Although they are not expected to practice at this early stage, they benefit from being immersed in different learning environments.
They are also encouraged to take up periods of study at Newcastle University UK, the parent institution.
By choosing to study at NUMed Malaysia, students will obtain a reputable UK qualification from an internationally recognised university at a cost significantly less than that of studying in the United Kingdom.
The undergraduate Bachelor of Medicine/ Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degrees were launched in 2009. Many of the programmes offer opportunities for periods of study in the UK.
For details, look out for Newcastle University UK’s advertisement in this StarSpecial.