6 September 2015 – Students of International Medical University (IMU)’s BSc (Hons) Nutrition had the opportunity to translate the skills that they have learnt from the university into practice through the experiential learning in conjunction with the launching of the IMU SPARK Community Centre at Plaza Salak Park . Students volunteered to measure and explain the body composition of members of the public who joined in the health screening event. In addition, students also have the chance to communicate and share healthy shopping tips with the public through a shopping tour in the same event. Final year student, Ng Yeng Yi shared her experience after the event: “This SPARK Community Centre health screening activity had provided me a great opportunity to serve the community besides gaining hands-on experiences on doing a health screening for the general public. This activity has brushed up my skills in anthropometric measurement and also sharpened my skills in communicating nutritional knowledge in commonly spoken languages. I had a fruitful experience from participating in this activity and look forward to join more IMU Cares activity to brush up my soft skills as to prepare myself for future career expectations.”
Heidi Young, also a final year student said “As a student nutritionist, it made me realise my role in educating the public and how much they really need nutritional information, based on their doubts and questions asked during the event. It was a good platform to realise my shortcomings that I can improve on when it comes to communicating with the public as well as skills in health screening.”
“This was not my first experience carrying out a health screening in the community, so before the event, I can already imagine how the situation is going to be like. That day I was in charge of the blood pressure measurement booth. Based on my experience, I do expect to meet a lot of different kinds of people during these activities, but what I found challenging was the questions asked by the clients. After dealing with a few clients, I slowly became more comfortable talking to the clients, and was able to carry out the procedure smoothly. Overall, I learned something new and had a good experience at this community service event.” shared by Alvina Ling, a final year Nutrition student. 
A second year student, Chung Yee Lin felt grateful to be part of this event, “Thank you for inviting me to join this meaningful event. This is my first time joining a supermarket tour. I learnt the job scope of a nutritionist and were able to learn how to measure the blood pressure for the clients as well. Besides, I observed how the other health professionals work cooperatively with each other. It was a great experience to join this event.” Lastly, Tan Yue Mun, a second year Nutrition student said “I was very happy that I learnt a lot through this supermarket tour in conjunction with the SPARK Community Centre launching. I learnt how to read the food labelling and how to compare the food from different brands which are available in the supermarkets. These had helped me improve my knowledge.” Related stories: IMU Supports Community with the Launch of its Community Centre at Plaza Salak Park
