Students@SPM 2023: MPH Orientation Programme for Semester 2 2022/2023

The Master of Public Health is one of our most popular programmes. The MPH first started in 1973 with seven candidates from the Ministry of Health Malaysia. The programme has gone through many changes during the last 49 years. There are now more than 1000 MPH alumni from Malaysia and around the world.

The orientation program for the newly admitted postgraduate students of the Master of Public Health (MPH) was organised on the 7th and 8th of March 2023. Students were formally welcomed and introduced to the department members, briefings on the academic and career paths, and tours of the campus and University Malaya Medical Centre.

The orientation programme for the first day was organised at Dewan Kuliah 1, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, and began with the Welcome Address by the Head of Department, Professor Dr Victor Hoe Chee Wai Abdullah, followed by the Introduction to Rules and Regulations by MPH Coordinators, Dr Rama Krishna Supramanian and Professor Dr Nirmala Bhoo Pathy. After a brief photo session at the Centrepoint, Faculty of Medicine, and a short break, the programme of the day continued with briefing sessions on courses offered were presented by the Head of each discipline: Epidemiology by Dr Lim Sin How; Statistics by Professor Dr Claire Choo Wan Yuen; Health, Policy, and Management by Professor Dr Tharani Loganathan; Family Health by Associate Professor Dr Nik Daliana Nik Farid; and Occupational and Environmental Health by Dr Rama Krishna Supramanian.

The day’s programme then proceeded with a talk on Public Health in Practice by Associate Professor Dr Mas Ayu Said, followed by a session on “Teaching and Learning via online, hybrid, and face-to-face” by Dr Rama Krishna Supramanian. After the lunch break, Professor Dr Sten H. Vermund from Yale School of Public Health conducted a hybrid session on Opportunities and Challenges for 21st Century Public Health: What Can Public Health Practitioners Do? It was a leisurely and thought-engaging session between the speaker and the students. The day ended with an ice-breaking session.

The second day on the 8th of March 2023 began with a talk on Mental Well-being by Associate Professor Dr Nik Daliana Nik Farid, as well as a topic on Mental Health Literacy among university students by Dr Mohd Zahiruddin Mohd Khairi and Dr Hazwa Harith both DrPH candidates. After a short morning break, the programme resumed with the Selection of Modules and Q&A session Then, the programme continued with the MPH Programme Coordinator, Professor Dr Nirmala Bhoo Pathy, briefed the students on selecting their modules.

Later, MPH graduates shared their experiences to the newcomers on how to survive through the degree. After the lunch break, a briefing on Library and Online Resources was conducted by Dr Ranita Hisham Shunmugam, a Senior Librarian at TJ Danaraj Library and the day concluded with student meetings with their academic advisors.

The department would like to welcome the new candidates who are joining the programme in Semester 2, 2022/2023 and wish you all the best throughout the academic journey.

This write-up was written by Muhammad Haizril Arif Md Mokhtar, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya.

Virtual Tour of Faculty of Medicine, and Universiti Malaya Medical Centre.

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