VIRTUAL TOUR
2011
17 FebUCSI UNIVERSITY AND NATURAL WELLNESS ESTABLISH PARTNERSHIP TO FIGHT CANCER
UNIVERSITY’S FACULTY OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES LAUNCHES FIRST POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMME
Kuala Lumpur, 17 February, 2011 - UCSI University’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Natural Wellness Holdings Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. pharmaceutical company are working together to combat cancer. The two parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the South Wing of UCSI University’s Kuala Lumpur campus to engage in joint research to study the anti-cancer properties of plants found in Malaysia. The research is the focus of the faculty’s first ever postgraduate programme, a Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, which was launched during the same ceremony. The event included speeches by UCSI University Vice Chancellor Dr Robert Bong and UCSI University Dean of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences Associate Professor Dr Yeong Siew Wei and was attended by more than 100 people, including UCSI University Council Chairman Tan Sri Dato Seri Dr Musa Mohamed and UCSI Group Chairman Dato’ Peter Ng.
“With our new partnership, we can share resources and experience as we work to accomplish the same goal,” Dr Bong said in his speech. “For our students, it is a project that will not only provide them with academic research, but also with practical, industrial experience with the potential for commercialisation.”
The agreement will allow the University and Natural Wellness to share knowledge and resources, with the goal of creating new therapeutic treatments for cancer for public consumption.
“Research needs to have a purpose, it must contribute to society,” Dr Yeong said in her speech. “In our faculty, we believe with the resources in Malaysia we can find new therapeutic treatments for cancer. There is still much to do, but we believe we can go there. With the synergistic energy between us and Natural Wellness, we believe we can achieve many things.”
Ms Shahnas Oli Mohamed, Managing Director of Natural Wellness, said research is crucial for long-term sustainability in a pharmaceutical business and working with the University allows her company to stay up-to-date with the latest developments.
“Natural Wellness believes that research collaborations and partnerships provide new horizons to all, enabling us to work and learn with experts in specific fields,” she said. “The staff and students at UCSI University will be exposed to the business and manufacturing side of pharmaceuticals when they are with us, while we benefit from the deep academic knowledge from the faculty that can be applied to some of our own projects.”
The new master’s programme offers a unique curriculum of both research and academic coursework, including compulsory elective business courses. UCSI University is the first private university in Malaysia to offer a Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Chemistry degree in a mixed mode format, which prepares students for both academic and industrial careers, while providing them business knowledge to better understand the background of their industry. A second postgraduate programme, a Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Technology, is also in the works.
Complementing the new programmes, the faculty also unveiled a brand new, state-of-the-art laboratory for master’s students to conduct their research. The new laboratory can support up to 25 students and contains three instrument rooms holding the field’s latest research tools including high performing liquid chromatography (HPLC), fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and an ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy equipment.
The faculty is now accepting applications for its Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, with its first intake in July. For more information please visit http://www.ucsi.edu.my/programmes/MscPharmaceutical.asp.
