ABOUT
IMU is Malaysia’s first and most established private medical and health sciences university with over 30 years of dedicated focus in healthcare education. IMU has SETARA-2018/19 rating of 6 stars (Outstanding) under the Mature University category.
Established Private Medical & Health Sciences University
Students
partner
alumni
programmes studies
Over 30 Years of Shaping Healthcare through Innovation, Imagination and Insight
We keep ahead of the curve
At IMU we are acutely aware that rapid advancements in technology are impacting healthcare practices. We keep abreast with these changes to understand what is required of healthcare professionals in the future. With insight, we evolve and innovate our programmes to produce graduates who are savvy and competitive in this modern age. Every programme incorporates foundational competencies in data science including core topics such as the value of data.
We are recognised for our quality
Since 1992, IMU has been fostering top-tier medical and healthcare experts through a comprehensive approach that integrates education, research, and healthcare in Malaysia. IMU holds the distinction of being the initial private medical university to attain self-accreditation status from MQA and has received SETARA's highest accolade for the third consecutive time.
We are devoted to Medicine and the Health Sciences
IMU specialises in the fields of Medicine and the Health Sciences; and all our resources are dedicated to excellence in these areas. It is the first university in Malaysia to offer studies in Complementary Medicine; and our Chiropractic Programme is the first of its kind in the region. In our listing for Centres & Schools, you will find a variety of healthcare courses offered via our pre-university, undergraduate, postgraduate and continuous learning programmes. continuous learning programmes.
A stimulating and efficient approach to learning
At IMU, we encourage critical and innovative thinking through self-directed learning and early contact with patients. Our students spend more time out of lecture halls than in them. Throughout their degree programme, they are exposed to research projects at our Institute for Research, Development & Innovation (IRDI). They also gain extensive hands-on, clinical experience through IMU Healthcare’s private clinics and with leading hospitals in the country. These build key clinical skills and help students’ specialty decisions.
Affiliations with prestigious international universities
IMU pioneered the concept of twinning and credit transfer programmes with established universities around the world. Our undergraduates are able to transfer their credits to any of the 35 established Partner Schools we collaborate with. Students can opt to begin their healthcare education in Malaysia, but complete and earn their degree at any one of our partner universities in Australia, Canada, China, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Renowned and highly experienced faculty
Our lecturers are highly qualified in their respective fields. They have extensive experience in teaching, researching and publishing as well as professional experience in clinical practice. Through exclusive arrangements with our Partner Medical Schools, senior faculty members from those universities conduct yearly quality assurance reviews with our faculty. This ensures that IMU is benchmarked to global standards. We also have lecturers visiting on a rotational basis to teach specialised subjects.
WE ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY
We engage with community IMU requires active involvement of students and lecturers in the community. This allows knowledge gained in theory to be translated into public health education, good communication skills, and core capabilities that strengthens their professionalism in real-world environs. The IMU Cares programme is a platform that fosters students to not just be knowledgeable, but to become caring healthcare practitioners, able to respond to situations proactively.
We deploy employment-ready graduates
IMU students gain wide exposure through experiential learning, industrial placements and service to the community. This produces competent, caring and ethical professionals who are lifelong learners and make them an asset to their employers. To guide their choices, our Career Development Unit assists students in career development and research while pointing them to professional opportunities.
Local Campus, International Community
Currently, the University has over 3,800 students including over 430 international students from 43 different countries. We also have international lecturers. When our students study alongside those from different backgrounds, it contributes to a better understanding of their world, and to the ability to relate to people from various cultures. It is also an opportunity to develop strong friendships among peers which will organically result in an extensive professional network upon graduation. All these will converge positively for their professional development.
Scholarships for deserving students
Students who show outstanding academic results can apply for scholarships and bursaries at the Foundation in Science, Undergraduate and Postgraduate levels. This provision will help many eligible students achieve their dreams. Since 2002, RM32 million in scholarships have been distributed through IMU, to 187 students.
Prof Abdul Aziz Baba
VICE CHANCELLOR | MBBS (Mel), MRCP (UK), MRCP (Ireland), FRCP (Edin)
Welcome to the international Medical University (IMU), where the future of healthcare is You!
Since its founding in 1992, IMU has emerged to be Malaysia’s first and most established private medical and health sciences university with over 5000 IMU Alumni who are currently working as doctors and specialists and with another 3000 serving as pharmacists, in Malaysia and around the world.
Being a specialist university with 100% focus on medicine, health sciences and complementary medicine programmes, the University encourages Innovation, Imagination and Insight among its students and staff to develop a competency framework that ensures IMU graduates are work-ready, knowledgeable, competent and caring healthcare professionals who are critical thinkers, reflective and yet proactive.
As “living the values” is an integral part of IMU, the University also place emphasis on active involvement in the community to inculcate a caring attitude among students and staff. This is reflected in the robust camaraderie among students, staff and the community. It also enables students to translate knowledge gained in classrooms into health education to the public, enhance communication skills and strengthen their professional and technical skills in real world environments.
Medicine, dentistry and health sciences programmes have always been interesting paths to explore. With the dynamic change in healthcare services and the need of the communities, this has opened up many fascinating courses leading to attractive career paths. We would like to take this opportunity to advise students to learn more about a particular profession before they pursue any of these courses in order to ensure a better future for themselves.
We welcome you to explore the vibrant and diverse opportunities at IMU, discover our teaching and research strengths and our diverse networks of partners and collaborators.
Be the Future of Better Healthcare.
Vision
Educational Mission
Quality Policy
Learning Outcome Domains
IMU adopts outcome-based curricula for all its programmes. This means that all graduates of IMU has fulfilled the desired outcomes expected of him or her in the programme.
These outcomes are designed to ensure that the graduate is ready for the workplace. These eight generic outcome domains as are below:
Individual programmes will apply the above domains to develop their specific educational outcomes. These outcomes will drive all aspects of the curriculum in terms of content and organisation, delivery and educational settings, assessment and quality activities.
IMU Education Sdn Bhd is committed to a high standard of regulatory compliance in all our accounting, financial reporting, internal controls, and corporate governance and auditing. We have a Whistleblowing Policy as an avenue for employees and non-employees to raise concerns in good faith, without fear of reprisal. Download Policy
STRATEGIC GOAL 1
Continue growth by introducing new and innovative products
We will go beyond the traditional healthcare programmes and develop health services to complement the development of respective disciplines.
STRATEGIC GOAL 2
Create more values to students with a transformed delivery
We aim to transform the delivery to fit for digital age and enhance student support services to provide a seamless experience.
STRATEGIC GOAL 3
Advance health through innovation by focusing on selected niche areas
We will focus on research in Digital health, Transformative nutrition & health, Analytical & pharmaceutical services and Diabetes research.
STRATEGIC GOAL 4
Build capacity and capability for the new operating model
We will drive operational excellence through process improvement and digitalisation, transform the IT ecosystem and focus on change management to enable the new operating model.
Tan Sri Dr Kamal Salih
The Late Dr Mei Ling Young
The Late Dr Saidi Hashim
30 years ago, it was clear that Malaysia was facing a serious shortage of doctors.
Our Story
1990 saw an acute shortage of doctors in Malaysia. Local universities were not producing enough practitioners. Studying medicine abroad was costly and beyond the means of many eligible students. Dr Kamal Salih, a visionary, and Dr Mei Ling Young, a social scientist with a strong interest in development, had a brilliant solution – if Malaysian students could not go out to get the medical training they qualified for, it would be brought to them.
Daring to Dream
Kamal and Mei Ling approached Dr Saidi Hashim who had helped found the Universiti Sains Malaysia’s (USM) Medical School. Together with Professor Ong Kok Hai, a USM colleague, the four began to visualise their dream of a medical school. They invited two leading medical educationists from the United Kingdom – Professor Ron Harden and Professor Ian Hart – to join them.
Bringing together their diverse expertise, the six brainstormed a unique education model where medical students would spend their first five semesters studying in Malaysia, and then move to a leading institution of higher learning overseas to complete their medical studies.
Five distinguished international universities embraced this radical concept and came on board as Partner Medical Schools (PMS) – making the aspiration of studying abroad accessible to more Malaysians.
A World’s First
The dream materialised in 1992 in the form of the International Medical College (IMC).
It became Malaysia’s first private medical college and introduced the world’s first programme to allow medical students to transfer their credits to a Partner Medical School.
The IMC was officially launched on 13 April that year by Education Minister, YB Datuk Amar Dr Sulaiman Haji Daud with the full support of his Ministry and the Ministry of Health Malaysia.
Phase 1
From 1992 to 1998, IMC focused on designing and building the first phase of its Medical Sciences programme which was recognised and accepted by some of the world’s best Medical schools.
In 1995, IMC started two intakes. By 1998, we were transferring abroad 68 students a year.
Turning Crisis into Opportunity
In 1998, the Asian financial crisis struck. Currencies fluctuated and the Malaysian ringgit went on a downward spiral. The Malaysian Government and parents sending students abroad for medical studies were badly hit. Some of IMC’s pre-Medical students ended up stranded and unable to continue their studies. Mei Ling had to negotiate with the PMS for some leeway and flexibility.
Phase 2
Seeing the need, the Government tasked Kamal and Mei Ling to fast-track the setting up of IMC’s Clinical School. This would allow IMC to become a full-fledged university. Students who completed their Medical Sciences programme could choose to transfer their credits either to a PMS or to continue locally at the IMC’s Clinical School.
Again, Professors Ron Harden and Ian Hart were consulted. Senior medical deans Professor Michael Orme of the United Kingdom, Dr John Ruedy of North America and Professor Ian Simpson from New Zealand were also recruited. Leadership was provided by Professor John Joseph Bosco, who was to become the first Malaysian Clinical Dean of the IMC. Together they formed the curriculum and designed the set up for the Clinical School.
The curriculum produced was innovative and modern and within a year, everything was finalised including staff recruitment.
IMC Becomes the International Medical University
University Status
On 4 February 1999, IMC was granted university status and became the International Medical University (IMU). The Clinical School was built to connect to the Hospital Tuanku Ja’afar (also known as the Seremban hospital), which is now the largest government hospital in Negeri Sembilan.
IMU welcomed its first batch of 46 students in September that year.
These students would be the first batch to have the option to complete their medical studies in Malaysia, and graduate with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) from IMU.
In 2001, just three years after the programme’s launch, IMU earned an accreditation from the National Accreditation Board, also known as the Malaysian Qualifications Register (MQA).
Clinical Exposure
Soon after its inception, IMU began collaborating with several hospitals to give its students exposure to the full spectrum of primary, secondary and tertiary medical care.
A “Senior Clerkship” programme was also implemented to allow final semester students to intern as housemen. This contributed significantly to the quality of IMU’s medical graduates.
Expanding into the Health Sciences
In 1996, IMU introduced a twinning programme for Pharmacy with the University of Strathclyde.
By 2004, we introduced our own Bachelor of Pharmacy programme and in 2005 the IMU launched its Bachelor in Nursing programme.
2008 saw the setting up of the Dentistry Faculty which offered the options to complete one’s degree in the IMU or to transfer credits to a Partner Dental School (PDS).
In our vision to provide a comprehensive and niche medical and health sciences education, which includes studies in complementary and alternative medicine, IMU achieved another first in Southeast Asia in 2010 when we introduced the evidence-based Chiropractic programme.
Following closely was the introduction of the Chinese Medicine programme in February 2011, where basic medical sciences were taught alongside clinical practices of Chinese Medicine. The programme adopted and applied a scientific and evidence-based approach to Chinese Medicine.
Other programmes IMU now offers are in Nutrition and Dietetics, and Psychology as well as non-clinical health programmes such as Medical Biotechnology, Biomedical Science and Pharmaceutical Chemistry.
Postgraduate Programmes
Since 2004, IMU has been offering postgraduate programmes, such as the MSc and PhD programmes by research.
Developing Our Research Potential
As with any good University, IMU began research activities in the year 2000, with the goal to become research driven.
In September 2012, the Institute for Research, Development and Innovation (IRDI) was established to grow our research potential capacity.
The IRDI’s key research areas cover Cancer & Stem Cell, Bioactive Molecules & Drug Delivery, Environmental & Population Health, and Health Professions Education Research.
Between 2008 to 2011, IMU’s faculty published 568 papers, of which 281 (49.5%) appeared in respected Indexed scientific journals such as the Lancet, British Medical Journal, Cochrane Data Base Systematic Reviews and Human Pathology, to name a few.
A Shift: Medical Education Research
IMU also delved into medical education research, and since 2000 the university has initiated 947 research projects, by undergraduates, graduates and faculty.
Research in medical education has become increasingly important to ensure that medical curricula translates into healthcare that is evidence based.
Making Healthcare Holistic
IMU began to set up holistic healthcare centres as early as 2010, and the first centre it established was the IMU Oral Health Centre.
This was followed by the IMU Chiropractic Centre in May 2010, the IMU Medical Clinic in July and the IMU Chinese Medicine Centre in November.
We take great pride in this teaching and service innovation.
Inculcating Social Responsibility
In 2002, IMU began looking at how it could produce healthcare professionals with a caring attitude and who were sensitive to the needs of their community.
This led to its first fund-raising project – a Charity Run held in the Bukit Jalil campus on 12 October 2002.
Serving the Community has since become ingrained in IMU’s values and identity.
Today, our community engagement services sees IMU students, faculty and staff regularly and intentionally promoting healthy lifestyles to vulnerable and underprivileged groups via health education, healthcare screenings and public health services.
They undertake these projects through IMU’s long-running Kampung Angkat (village partnership) programme, the Health and Wellness Programme, and the IMU Cares programmes.
The Present and Future
IMU has become a recognised integrated Medical and Health Sciences institution, offering education, healthcare and research in partnership with some of the world’s most respected individuals and institutions.
We strive to continually improve our programmes to ensure our graduates are in step with advances in technology, medicine and healthcare.
We remain focused on the central philosophy that guided our founders – access to quality medical education; innovation and imagination as a cornerstone; and continuous insights and reflection to visualise and realise IMU’s future.
Year 2023
Awards and Recognition
Institution Awards and Recognition
International Accreditation for Education Programs for Dietitian-Nutritionists 2018
For IMU’s BSc (Hons) Dietetics with Nutrition programme.
Institute of Biomedical Science Accreditation
for the BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science Full-time Programme Since 2017
Royal Society of Chemistry, UK Accreditation
for BSc (Hons) in Pharmaceutical Chemistry since 2014 and MSc in Analytical and Pharmaceutical Chemistry (MAPC) since 2019
Community Engagement Awards
APUCEN Inaugural International Youth Volunteer Award 2017 (Entrepreneurship Category)
Special Award
Annual Reports
The Vice-Chancellor’s Report summarises the University’s most notable activities and achievements for each academic year. It also includes meaningful stories about our students and captures IMU’s vision to continue being a leader in the education of innovative and caring healthcare professionals of the future.
View the Vice-Chancellor’s Report:
The International Medical University (IMU) recognises the importance of achieving sustainable development and to create long-term shared value for our students, staff, community and ultimately to secure our future.
Sustainability can mean many things. It can be directly related to how we care for our environment and our best attempts to reduce our carbon footprint. Or it can be about the significant practices we instill into the culture of our organisation to make it a meaningful, inclusive, and enjoyable workplace for our staff. It can also mean nurturing ownership and ensuring the continuation of a project by its benefactors, long after the project pioneers have withdrawn from it. At IMU, we have tried to incorporate these three different dimensions in the following areas: Environment, Community Engagement and Our People.
Environment
As a university and healthcare provider with thousands of people under our wing, we consume much energy and produce large amounts of waste. We see the need to live and work sustainably and responsibly, while continually inculcating the importance of conservation.
Energy Conservation Programme
With thousands of people utilising the facilities daily, our campus consumes a high amount of energy. Cognisant of this, the IMU implemented the Energy Consumption Programme to strategise the efficient use of energy in all our spaces.
Among the activities carried out to this end are:
- An ongoing Energy Saving Campaign to remind staff and students to switch off lights, air conditioning and electrical appliances after use.
- The upgrade of light fittings into more energy-efficient LED lighting which use less electricity and last longer than incandescent bulbs (completed in 2019).
- The replacement of aging motors into high-efficiency motors (HEM) which produce minimal energy losses (completed in 2019).
- The retrofit of existing escalators with sensors to save energy when not in use (targeted to be completed in 2020).
- The ongoing monitoring and maintenance of chiller temperatures at 47°F for optimal performance.
- The purchase of electrical products that are energy-star compliant (ongoing).
- The installation of a Building Automation System (BAS) to control and monitor equipment operation (at planning stage).
- The annual observation of World Earth Day to create greater awareness about energy consumption and conservation (ongoing).
Our Planned Preventive Maintenance (PPM) approach incorporates careful planning and scheduling to routinely prevent failures before it happens. Equipment that is not regularly serviced and maintained requires more energy to operate and unplanned failures are expensive. One preventive measure is to regularly renew and maintain all major energy-consuming equipment resulting in optimal performance and efficient use of energy.
We must give credit to the University’s Facilities Management and Administration (FMA) department which oversees the continuous upgrades and refurbishment, making the University increasingly more energy efficient.
ITS Initiatives
- Energy-star laptops were deployed to replace all standard desktops, and 809 Laboratory desktops were substituted with an all-in-one computer to reduce power consumption and increase efficiency (carried out from 2016-19).
- An energy-smart saving mode has been enabled on all devices to ensure energy conservation during periods of inactivity.
- The migration of systems to cloud services hosted by Green Data centers is currently ongoing.
At IMU, we understand that reducing our energy consumption is not just sustainable and responsible, but it makes good business sense and results in financial savings.
Water Conservation Programme
We do our best to nurture and ingrain good habits around the use of water.
As a start, upgrading works were carried out to make our facilities use water more efficiently.
Posters reminding students and staff to conserve water greet restroom users and remind them not to let the water run unnecessarily.
Additionally, World Water Day is observed through an awareness campaign via the University’s digital platforms, namely Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Recycling Programme
Recycling bins are placed at strategic points around the campus to enable staff and students to responsibly separate and dispose of their waste.
e-Waste Campaign
In 2017, IMU launched its e-Waste campaign under the IMU Cares initiative and in collaboration with the Recycling Club and the MPU4 programme.
The campaign has since been ongoing and aims to encourage students, staff and the community we work with, to recycle their e-waste in an accountable way.
To support this effort, the University opened its doors as an e-Waste collection center for the community. In 2019, a total of 7,039 kg was collected and sent for recycling.
Educational materials such as posters, an animated video and leaflets were also created and distributed by staff and students to enhance awareness amongst the IMU Community. Seminars and workshops have also been conducted in line with this campaign.
Transportation
Transportation is responsible for around one-fifth of global carbon dioxide emissions and in most cities, is the leading cause of pollution.
As we are a city campus, IMU has considered how we can reduce our emission contribution.
We began by assigning designated parking areas for students and staff and from these areas, shuttle busses provided transport to students and staff around the campus. This arrangement greatly reduced emissions as well as traffic congestion in and around our campus grounds.
Chartered buses and the IMU Van are also available whenever our students need to be transported for community service activities, events and field trips.
Community Engagement
The University’s long-term and sustainable goals of being a diverse and inclusive community are seen through the positive impact made among the IMU Community comprising of students, staff and alumni, as well as the community at large. These initiatives are driven through a community-based participatory research approach, service learning and outreach services focus that are aligned with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG).
Providing multiple platforms of engagement via service learning in the formal curriculum to IMU Cares – the University’s outreach programme to student-led community charity clinics, clubs, societies and the IMU District Partnership Initiative (DPI), the community engagement’s office oversees the University’s commitment to sustainability, community, and social activities.
Click here to learn more about our IMU Cares programme.
Our People
Our staff and faculty are IMU’s greatest asset and while we do have financial objectives and strategies as an organisation, they do not trump the desire to provide a conducive work-environment.
We want to retain our people for as long as possible. By applying sustainability into the DNA of our human resources blueprint, we attract the best talents and keep them.
We do this by nurturing ownership, prioritising ethics and quality over profits and by fostering shared vision and goals. We also provide volunteering opportunities for our staff, continuous training and regular reviewing of workplace practices.
These pursuits boost employee morale and keep them engaged and fulfilled.
Our efforts were acknowledged when we were awarded the AIA Vitality’s 2019 Malaysia’s Healthiest Workplace and Malaysia’s Healthiest Employer for a medium-sized organisation.
Tribute to Our Co-Founder and Board Member
The Late Dr Mei Ling Young
1949 – 2021
A charismatic, exuberant and passionate social scientist, the late Dr Mei Ling Young, or fondly known as Mei Ling, was one of the three founders of the International Medical College (IMC), Malaysia’s first private medical college in 1992.
Together with Tan Sri Datuk Dr Kamal bin Salih and the late Dr Saidi Hashim, they had embarked on a mission – to establish an educational model that would allow more young Malaysians to pursue their ambitions to become doctors and other healthcare professionals through a globally recognised curriculum. With the help of two established professors of medical education, Ron Harden and Ian Hart, they devised a simple, brilliant but daring model and the only one of its kind in the world where all students who achieved the required standard, the outcomes, can be transferred in their clinical years to initially. Five and later, to nearly 33 renowned medical schools throughout the English-speaking world. Her determined and visionary leadership has been an example to us all for the near 30 years since our establishment. [Read more here]
For students and staff alike, Mei Ling nurtured in us an unending thirst for knowledge. By her own example, she encouraged a humble but unyielding pursuit of excellence, and in her personal and professional life, she gave us the greatest gift of all: the dream of discovering new things for ourselves, and the ability to realise that dream.
Also known for her inclusive, positive and caring nature, she will continue to touch countless lives – even as she passes on from this one. Her legacy will live on in IMU, through each student, staff and everyone else who have passed through IMU’s doors.
As a tribute to the late Mei Ling, you may share your thoughts, photos and on this site: Visit Site
Thank you and may you rest in peace Mei Ling.