New Partnership between IMU and University of Dundee: A Gateway to Drug Discovery Related Educational Programmes

International Medical University (IMU) in partnership with University of Dundee (UoD), is offering excellent educational programmes related to drug discovery, a multidisciplinary field with lots of potential job opportunities. The collaboration involves IMU’s BSc (Hons) in Pharmaceutical Chemistry programme which started in 2008 and accredited by the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK since 2014 and The School of Life Sciences in University of Dundee which offers a number of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in drug discovery related fields such as Biochemistry, Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, Biological Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Molecular Genetics, Neuroscience, Pharmacology and Physiological Sciences. This collaboration sees students who completed the 1-year IMU Foundation in Science (FiS) and 1 year of IMU’s BSc (Hons) in Pharmaceutical Chemistry programme having the option to proceed to one of three pathways.

Specialisms: Biochemistry, Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, Biological Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Molecular Genetics, Neuroscience, Pharmacology and Physiological Sciences. Overall, the reasons to study IMU [FiS+ 1 year BSc (Hons) in Pharmaceutical Chemistry]-UoD (2/3 years UG/PG) articulation program are its flexible and updated course structure, student focused teaching and learning activities, research-led teaching and curriculum, and relatively lower living cost. Prospective students who are contemplating on taking this course, can be rest assured that they will be in good hands. At IMU, the FiS  prgramme equips students with basic knowledge and technical skills in science; and one year in BSc (Hons.) in Pharmaceutical Chemistry equips students with basic knowledge and technical skills in Drug Discovery, preparing the students well before they transfer to UoD. The teaching philosophy in training students at IMU is very similar to that of UoD, giving the students in this articulation programme the ability to adjust quickly to the UoD learning environment. UoD staff frequently visit IMU and conduct sessions with the students. This experience enables students to get to know some of UoD staff before travelling to Dundee. In addition, there will be lots of online sessions for the students at IMU to interact with their future colleagues and faculty at Dundee.

Studying at University of Dundee

Many times, prospective international students may feel overwhelmed – especially for those who are studying abroad for the first time. Inability to cope with stress, culture differences and homesickness are the highest occurring issues. UoD is equipped with amazing student support, the Dundee University Students’ Association (DUSA) is dubbed the best Student Union in Scotland. They scored top in the world for satisfaction with support at 96.6% in their International Student Barometer 2018. Moreover, there is always University of Dundee Malaysian Society (DUMAS) to provide support and a homey atmosphere to Malaysian students studying in UoD. DUMAS is a society, made up of Malaysian students and is dedicated to recreating the rich sense of culture and home of Malaysia in Dundee. Students will not miss any of the major festivals celebrated at home as they organise plenty of them. These include, Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Hari Merdeka, Hari Malaysia etc and they even hold ‘Recipe Nights’ to learn a favourite Malaysian dish! The cost of living in Dundee is fair and it is not something that will cost an arm and a leg if you are ambitious to study abroad. To give a rough estimate, the total cost covering accommodation, utility bills, food, light entertainment and travel in Dundee is £800. That is a lot more affordable compared to some other locations such as Edinburgh (£ 1200), Glasgow (£ 1100), London (£ 2200), Cambridge (£ 1500) and Oxford (£ 1400).

Kit-Kay Mak, an alumna of Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Lecturer in Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at IMU received the prestigious Welcome Trust fellowship in 2019. She spent one year in the Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research (WCAIR) and Drug Discovery Unit (DDU). These two research centers are integral parts of School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee. While at the University, Kit-Kay  witnessed the teaching style, student-led and support activities and participated in a multidisciplinary research team of 95 staff who have had experience in the most renowned pharmaceutical companies such as AstraZeneca, GSK, Merck (MSD) and Pfizer. Kit-Kay Mak says “It has been a priceless experience for me. As a budding chemist with interest in drug discovery, I have always been passionate about receiving research training in a world-renowned laboratory and to transfer the knowledge I have acquired back to the society. I am glad to have experienced this journey, developed new skills, interacted with world renowned scientists, students and people from different parts of the world and learnt about their cultural diversity. I have witnessed the social, fun, academic, research and working life aspects in Dundee immediately after my postgraduate studies. Thus, I believe the students in this articulation programme will enjoy their life at Dundee very much  while becoming competent graduates, ready to work in any drug discovery organisation.”