Overflow crowd joins Malaysia reception sharing TMU’s scientific, educational and clinical offerings

A networking reception on Saturday, October 20, capped the university’s Malaysian outreach events with scientific and educational presentations. Aided by publicity from the Sin Chew Daily, the world’s largest Chinese-language media corporation beyond Taiwan and China, the event drew a large and enthusiastic crowd to the newly opened Ibis KL City Center hotel.

The co-host of the event, Datuk Dr. Tang Yong Chew, is a TMU alumnus with close links to the Chinese communities in Malaysia. His warm hospitality and wide network of friends of Taiwan greatly aided the TMU team as they sought to expand ties with the Southeast Asian economic powerhouse in keeping with Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy.

Registered participants received a TMU information pack while fruit, pastries and hot snacks as well as beverages were served throughout the afternoon. Many participants lingered for hours after the scheduled closing to speak with TMU Associate Professor Ming-Heng Wu following his inspiring talk, “Cancer: No Longer a Death Sentence.”

Other participants surrounded Associate Professor Shian-Ying Sung, who had given an overview of exciting TMU research and the role of clinical trials, in addition to the introduction to TMU’s PhD Program for Translational Medicine.

With those scientific and clinical bases covered, a presentation on educational programs by Vice Dean for Global Engagement Dawn Chen led to dozens of questions from prospective students with avid interest in joining TMU for research internships and future studies.

The networking event attracted around 200 participants including local scholars and their students, TMU alumni residing in Malaysia, business representatives, diplomats and members of the public who were interested in learning about the university’s cancer research and treatment options.

One participant shared his experience with TMU’s Shuang Ho Hospital. He praised the integration of traditional Chinese medicine with high-tech Western medicine there and called this a rare combination, as most medical institutions worldwide favor one approach but not both. The three original hospitals in the TMU Healthcare System all have sophisticated, full-service Chinese herbal dispensaries as well as physician-staffed clinics offering acupuncture and moxibustion – approaches that have been shown to help cancer patients better tolerate Western-style chemotherapies. TMU’s other efforts in cancer treatment and prevention, including the introduction of IBM Watson for Oncology as well as cancer screening measures to supplement cancer diagnoses, also drew attention from the audience, with many regarding TMU staff members highly for their commitment to finding better solutions to health issues of the people.

With the much-valued support of the Datuk and the university’s Malaysian Alumni Association that he leads as president, TMU will continue to expand its links with regional partners to create synergies in education, research and health care.

For interviews or a copy of the paper, contact Office of Global Engagement via global.initiatives@tmu.edu.tw.