UTAR hosted the 2023 UTAR Industry-Academia Collaboration Forum: Traditional Chinese Medicine on 26 June 2023 at UTAR Hospital T&CM Centre. The conference received wide participation from researchers, members of the industry, and public.

The conference was a collaboration between Faculty of Science (FSc), M Kandiah Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (MK FMHS), Division of Community and International Networking (DcInterNet), and UTAR Hospital T&CM Centre.

UTAR Vice President for Student Development and Alumni Relations Prof Dr Choong Chee Keong was invited to deliver a welcoming speech. Also present were UTAR Hospital CEO Prof Dr Lau Hui Ping, UTAR T&CM Centre Director and Principal Practitioner Assoc Prof Dr Te Kian Keong, Department of Chinese Medicine Head Leu Kim Fey, FSc Deputy Dean for Student Development and Industrial Training Assoc Prof Dr Sit Nam Weng, Department of Allied Health Sciences Head Dr Teh Lai Kuan and academic Dr Tan Gim Cheong, DcInterNet Director Assoc Prof Dr Lai Soon Onn and Deputy Director Dr Chen, I-Chi, and representatives from industry and associations.

The forum kick-started with a welcome speech by Prof Choong. He welcomed and thanked the active participation from the industry and public, and thanked the organisers for organising the first UTAR Industry-Academia Collaboration Forum with the theme on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) successfully. He mentioned, “It is hoped that this inaugural forum will be a good starting point for the academia and industry to engage together in the field of TCM, so as to carry out more exchanges and collaboration in the future, as well as to create a new situation of industry-academia collaboration of TCM in our country and even in the region.”

He added, “We know that many new research discoveries are ‘born’ in the laboratories of universities, and then developed into outcomes that will benefit society and people. It is often difficult to achieve research outcomes only by the promotion in academic circles. However, if we can obtain the common attention and research of the academia and also the industry, as well as collaboration in resource sharing and sponsorship of research funding, it will be easier to make important breakthroughs in academic research and practice. Therefore, we strongly encourage our researchers to link up and collaborate with the industry. At the same time, the University welcomes industry partners to collaborate with us to establish a stable and developing industry-academia collaboration partnership.”

This was followed by an introduction session by Dr Te on UTAR’s Centre for Research in Traditional Chinese Medicine, TCM programme, previous collaborations with the industry, as well as UTAR Hospital and T&CM Centre. He revealed, “UTAR T&CM Centre will be an educational centre integrating clinical practices, teaching, and scientific research.”   

Then, a few talks on the introduction of FSc’s research related to traditional herbs and Chinese medicine have been conducted by Dr Sit, Dr Tan, and Dr Teh. The talks were “Phytochemical, physicochemical analysis for active compounds in traditional herbs & medicine” by Dr Sit; “In vivo and in vitro study using cell culture and animal model for Chinese medicine treatment” by Dr Tan; and “Human and intervention study on the treatment effects of Chinese medicine” by Dr Teh; with the aim to provide a platform to the audience to know more about how FSc’s R&D helps and supports the development of Chinese herbal medicine. The Faculty looked forward to the potential collaboration with the industry.

Tours to UTAR T&CM Centre, and FSc’s laboratories were conducted after the talk sessions, followed by sharing sessions by Nanyang Herbal Medicine Company (南洋草药项目公司) Executive Director Jiang Shibo on the “Development of Chinese herbal medicine in Gansu, China”, and Leu on UTAR TCM undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

In his closing remarks, Prof Lau extended his gratitude to everyone and said, “Thank you to the active participation from the industry and public, and all parties who helped made this event a success.” He also introduced the structure and services of UTAR Hospital Medical Centre, which will be operated soon, and shared his medical experiences in Western Medicine and TCM.

The speakers and participants had active interactions during the Q&A sessions. They discussed topics related to herbal planting, ways to introduce Chinese herbal medicine to young people, shortcomings and challenges of herbalists in Malaysia, possible collaborations with UTAR to nurture herbalists, as well as, the requirements of UTAR postgraduate programmes.