On 30 September and 1 October 2022, IMU held its first ever Alumni Conference, complementing the Alumni Homecoming Dinner 2022. The conference was a collaboration between the Alumni Association and Alumni Relations Office, which provided IMU Alumni and students a platform to come together and exchange ideas. It was a nonscientific conference comprising of 3 topics being Teaching & Learning, Entrepreneurship and Public Community Engagement. This inaugural event was received warmly by both Alumni and the student body as the conference saw a combination of participation from Alumni and current students. This conference received participation from 34 Alumni from various schools, 20 staff members some of them who are Alumni, 32 active students from various schools and 3 external participants.
Prof Dr Aziz Baba delivered his opening speech where he emphasised his delight in welcoming back Alumni back to IMU and how delightful it was to see how far our Alumni have gone in their respective career paths. He spoke about how the conference gave the opportunity for Alumni to engage and interact with fellow Alumni and future alumni. He also went on to hope that the conference will provide learning opportunities and inspiration for all.
This was followed by the commencement of the first segment of the Conference: Entrepreneurship. This segment was moderated by our alumna, Kerk Qian Wei (PS216 & MC120) and the panelists were Dr Raymond Choy (ME103) and Gajendren Mailvagannam (BP113).
The Entrepreneurship segment was a robust kick start to the conference thanks to the interactive oral presentations.
| Oral Presentations | |
|---|---|
| Lee Jia Hong (CH219) | Revival Chiropractic – Starting Up and Running a Business as a University Student |
| Dr Kristal Lau Ying Qing LaFrance (ME108) | Medicine Isn’t for Everyone: How to Quit by Freelancing or As a Small Business. |
The audience was suitably enthralled by the oral presentations which led to a lively Q&A session between the audience members, panelists, and oral presenters.
Attendees of the Conference also had the opportunity to listen to a sharing session by Bikesh Lakhmichand, Founder of 1337 Ventures, a Malaysian Venture Capital that invests in early-stage startups and Dr Kev Lim, CEO & Founder of QueueMed a healthcare technology startup founded in 2018 by a group of doctors and engineers. Its inception was made possible by the assistance of 1337 Ventures.
After a spot of lunch, the Conference continued with poster presentations for the category of Teaching and Learning.
| Teaching and Learning Poster Presentations | |
|---|---|
| Dr Sivakumar Arunachalam | Reimagining Collaboration with Industry Impact on Dental Education and Training |
| Low Xiao Qin | Helicopter Parenting, Fear of Negative Evaluation And Resilience Among Malaysian University Students |
| Clara Rinaldi | Does Joining Clubs Reduce Stress in University Students? A Quantitative Study in a Private University |
The conference also received entries of poster presentations for the Public Community and Engagement segment.
| Public Community and Engagement Poster Presentations | |
|---|---|
| Tang Zhen Ling | A Quantitative Study on The Relationship Among Social Appearance Anxiety, Self-Objection and Perceived Social Support among Malaysian Young Adults |
| Shareena Syaira Binti Shaari | Earliest Experience of Hair Pulling and Discovery of Its Name Among Malaysian Individuals with Trichotillomania Symptoms and Haziqah Binti Packirgani with her title “The Experience of Couples Dating Outside of Their Faith |
Day One of the Conference ended with the second segment, Public Community and Engagement. This segment was moderated by our alumna, Fazlina Razif (CH110), and the panelists were Dr Sharminithevi Paramalingam (ME298) and Dr Richard Teo Soon Kiat (ME110).
| The dynamic oral presenters for this segment were | |
|---|---|
| Dr Liew Kong Fui (ME205) | Novel and Sustainable Approach to Tackling the Global Metabolic Epidemic |
| Dr Polly Yap Soo Xi (MMHS211) | Mining the Poop: from Biomarkers to Personalized Medicine |
| Chong Yi Qie (PS219) | Be Blessed to Respire: A Qualitative Approach to Understand Post-Traumatic Growth among Covid-19 Survivors in Malaysia |
| Ng Wing Yee (PS219) | The Coming Out Experience and Journey as Transgender People in Malaysia |
The second day of the Conference was highlighted by a keynote speech by our Alumna, Prof Dr Azlina Amir Abbas who gave an illuminating speech entitled The Hippocratic Oath: An Invaluable Guide to a Meaningful Medical Career. Her speech touched on teaching, its challenges, and her experience of being a lifelong student and educator.
The final segment of the conference was then moderated by Kishen Kunalan (BP1/16) and the panelists were Dr Lwin Mie Aye (MScPH213) and Dr Amanda Albert (ME207). Our participant who flew in from Thailand, Dr Kasemsuk Yothasamutr (ME203) was the first presenter with his title: “From A Disaster Medical Team to COVID-19 Field Hospital Operator. The audience then listened to the presentation by Dr Joash Tan Loh (ME208) on “The Value of Combined Qualitative and Quantitative Survey: A Survey of Workplace Bullying and Struggles among House Officers in a Tertiary Hospital” and Agus Alysha Nadia binti Agosmustaram with her title: “The Experience of Overcoming School Bullying Among Young Adults in Malaysia” concluded the conference.
The winners were duly announced and received their prizes from Prof Dr Vishna Devi Nadarajah. First prize winners received RM500 while second prize winners received RM300, and third prize winners received RM150. The list of winners are as follows:
Teaching & Learning
| Oral Presentation | Poster Presentation | |
|---|---|---|
| First | Dr Joash Tan Loh | Low Xiao Qing |
| Second | Agus Alysha Nadiah Binti Agosmustaram | Clara Rinaldi |
| Third | Dr Kasemsuk Yothasamutr | Dr Sivakumar Arunachalam |
Entrepreneurship Oral Presenters
| Oral Presentation | |
|---|---|
| First | Lee Jia Hong |
| Second | Dr Kristal Lau Ying Qing La France |
Public Community & Engagement
| Oral Presentation | Poster Presentation | |
|---|---|---|
| First | Chong Yi Qie | Haziqah Binti Packirgani |
| Second | Dr Liew Kong Fui | Shareena Syaira Binti Shaari |
| Third | Dr Polly Yap Soo Xi | Tang Zhen Ling |
Together with Prof Dr Aziz Baba and Prof Dr Vishna Devi Nadarajah, mentionable attendance also included Puan Noraidah Yusof. Though the number of attendees were not overwhelming, the conference achieved its purpose of gathering Alumni back “home” and spending time learning from each other’s experience and exchanging opinions. It was truly a thought-provoking and heartwarming experience for all.
The conference received many encouraging feedbacks, most of all was the hopes of Alumni that the conference be a recurring event. The Alumni Association together with Alumni Relations Office will surely endeavor to make the IMU Alumni Conference a time-honored tradition.
