Students from Yangzhou University

From left: Ling, Han, Ji, Lu, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS) Dean Emeritus Prof Dr Cheong Soon Keng, FMHS Department of Chinese Medicine Head Dr Te Kian Keong, Liu, Xia, Gao and Zhang at the exhibition room of the UTAR TCM Centre

Eight students from Yangzhou University (YZU) under the UTAR international student exchange programme arrived at Sungai Long Campus on 11 October 2017.

The students were Year Four Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) undergraduates, namely Xia Zihao, Ji Houlin, Gao Yunfei, Liu Jingyu, Ling Zicheng, Zhang Qing Yun, Han Hui and Lu Haojie. Through the exchange programme, the students joined the UTAR TCM programme for one whole semester and will be returning home on 28 December 2017.

Each student was given the option to select two subjects out of TCM Diagnostics（中医诊断学）、Chinese Medical Prescriptions（方剂学）、Chinese Materia Medica（中药学）、Geriatrics of TCM（中医老年病学）and Orthopaedics, Traumatology of TCM （中医骨伤科学）during the semester at UTAR.

Lu said, “The class size here is small, so the lecturers and tutors can attend to each student with more details and that allows more interactions in the classroom. The lecturers do not only emphasise on theories but also the practical aspect.” Han explained, “We had the opportunity to see, touch and smell the actual herbs that we used to only see in the reading materials. It is of great advantage that we learn faster and with more fun through experiential learning which involves many hands-on activities such as demonstration and role-plays.”

“We also reached out to the public community around the campus to collect data for an assignment for TCM Diagnostics. It was an eye-opener as it allowed us to learn through real-life cases and get in touch with a multi-racial community which is rather rare back in our country,” said Ji. Gao added, “These activities encouraged us to explore knowledge outside the books and learn through hands-on experience. They also helped us to gain more confidence and learn from our local peers at UTAR.”

During their stay in Malaysia, the students visited some local old folks’ homes as well as participated in TCM community service project, Kuala Lumpur Engineering Science Fair: The Fair 2017 and several other events and organisations for volunteering projects by providing free medical consultation such as pulse and tongue diagnosis. Besides, the students also visited the memorial park and Chinese pharmaceutical company to learn more about TCM and local chinese culture in Malaysia.

College of Medicine of YZU was founded in 1950. UTAR and YZU inked a memorandum of understanding in 2015. Read about a visit to Yangzhou Hospital of TCM here.

Ji (seated, first from right) with some UTAR TCM students and lecturer Assoc Prof Dr Wu Nanmin (seated, second from left)

The students providing free consultation to the public through volunteering project

YZU students visiting Malacca with local friends

Lu (left) presenting a souvenir to Prof Cheong