Reuniting with Friends and Lecturers at Alumni Gathering

6 – 7 July 2018 – Two Alumni Gatherings were held in the northern region of Malaysia. This time around, the Alumni Office organised two gatherings in Penang and Ipoh. In Penang, the gathering was held at The Wembley Hotel on 6 July while Weil Hotel was chosen to house the gathering in Ipoh the next day.

The Alumni Office finished setting up the hall two hours before the start of the event and by six in the evening, a number of alumni started to show up. Happy faces and laughter filled the hall as the alumni started to register and reunite with their classmates and their favorite lecturers.

For these Gatherings, the Alumni Unit was accompanied by two Alumni Association Committee members, Kaeshaelya Thiruchelvam and Ng Kar Foo. Both of these alumni members are now working at IMU.

Kaesha, who is the alumni from pharmacy programme was excited to be sharing the benefits of being an IMU Alumni. Representing the School of Pharmacy, Ms. Kaesha engaged with the alumni—addressing their issues and needs as well as listening to the alumni career updates. “Your experience can sparkle the students’ inspiration”, said Ng Kar Foo. This was his first time joining the gathering and he was happy to be a part of the gathering.

Dr Jagjeet Singh, a medical alumnus from the 1996 cohort who is now a Consultant Plastic, Reconstructive & Cosmetic Surgeon at Carl Corrynton Medical Center, Penang was more than willing to share his story. The crowd was glued to their seats as they listened to the story of how Dr Jagjeet adapted to a new culture when he moved to the North America to his partner school at the University of Alberta. He also shared his professional experience dealing with people from various culture backgrounds especially during his trainings in Kota Kinabalu, Kelantan and Korea. Dr Jagjeet also reflected on how his life back when he was at the International Medical College before the institution gained its university status. Many members of the alumni were excited listening to the IMU Hospital updates, which was presented by the CEO of IMU Healthcare, Dr Chong Su Lin. The detailed presentation was followed up by few questions from the alumni as many of them were curious about the hospital updates.

Head of Student Services Department, Saravanan Muthiah then announced the news of having an Alumni Portal, an initiative from International Medical University to connect with its alumni. The Alumni Portal is a social network platform to connect and engage with the IMU Alumni around the world. This interactive social network platform will be in the form of a website and also a mobile application. The IMU Alumni Portal is set to be launched by the end of this year.

The networking session did not just stop there. Stories and thoughts were exchanged and the room was filled with the sounds of discussion. One last group photo and the event was about to end. The Alumni Office has received positive feedback about the event and many alumni praised the efforts from the university to reach out and engage with them. They promised to always keep in touch and reflected on how IMU will always be their home.

These two gatherings marked the second Alumni Gathering held for this year after the gathering in Kota Kinabalu last March.

Read more about the gathering in Kota Kinabalu at A Cozy and Inspiring Alumni Gathering in Kota Kinabalu