It has been around 18 months since we have a real gathering of Master of Public Health and Doctor of Public Health candidates in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought almost all physical face-to-face teaching and learning to a standstill. During that time we migrated most of our teaching online. It was a steep learning curve, at the end we all survived, students, non-academic staff, and faculty members.

Although we can still deliver postgraduate teaching as an online programme, however, the experience is never the same.

Today, we were delighted to be able to have the orientation programme for our MPH and DrPH candidates. There were around 60 MPH candidates and 23 DrPH candidates who have registered for the current year’s programme.

It was the first time that we have met face-to-face with some of our MPH students who is now joining the DrPH programme. Actually, some of us did not know what we have missed until we were face-to-face with the students in the hall.

Today’s orientation programme was something new, for the first time we have a hybrid orientation programme. Most of the students staying and working around the Klang Valley was here physically, those that were farther away and from overseas joined us through Microsoft Teams.

The orientation programme was initially planned as an online programme. However, with the improving COVID-19 situation in Klang Valley and a directive from the University Malaya central management, we were encouraged to have a face-to-face orientation programme. We had only less than one week to planned and prepare for the hybrid orientation programme. Thanks to the great Teamwork from all the staff in the Department, we were able to pull it off.

Tomorrow, we will be meeting the students again for the second day of the orientation programme.