A special partnership between the University of Melbourne and Universitas Indonesia has been shaping Indonesian medical students for two decades.
Seeing how clinical practices operate, how medical disciplines collaborate, and how clinicians communicate with patients in another country are key elements of the Bachelor of Medical Science program (BMedSci).
The BMedSci allows Bachelor of Medicine/MD students students at Universitas Indonesia (UI) to complete one year of preclinical research training at the University of Melbourne, and since the partnership began 20 years ago, more than 470 Indonesian medical students have graduated.
Associate Professor Anita Horvath, Academic Director, Indonesia Engagement, says the successful partnership is broadening the perspectives and practice of future health professionals in Indonesia.
“Traditionally, clinical practice in Indonesia was a convention structure but students who spend a conventional year within Melbourne Medical School see how a foreign healthcare system can work differently, and they recognise the importance of working inter-professionally,” says Associate Professor Horvath.
When they return to Indonesia, students are more inquisitive and ask more questions about clinical practice and convention. It changes their mindset and how they see themselves as future clinicians. They realise they can take on advocacy or research and drive change.
Dr Annemarie Chrysantia Melati spent 2010-2011 undertaking her BMedSci year at the University of Melbourne.
She says it was her first clinical exposure. “Meeting patients and observing how the clinicians and surgeons worked were incredible experiences. The University of Melbourne has taught me that it is possible to be a clinician and researcher at the same time. My time at the University showed me how to balance these two worlds,” she says.
The success of the partnership rests on a desire from both universities to support the healthcare transformation journey in the Asia-Pacific region.
“Universitas Indonesia is keen to develop and support the healthcare student of the future and our academics and clinicians share that vision. During clinical placement, our busy clinicians are open to supervising Indonesian students because they want to continue to develop the future health workforce,” says Associate Professor Horvath.
The 20-year partnership was celebrated in a ceremony in Jakarta last year, attended by Professor Jane Gunn AO (MBBS 1987, PhD 1998), Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, other university representatives from Melbourne and Indonesia, and BMedSci alumni.
It was a wonderful opportunity to bring partners across the program together and showcase to governments and academia how smaller programs like this can have a large impact says Associate Professor Horvath.
Maintaining close ties with alumni ensures the partnership has ongoing positive impacts. “Students have gone on to study at Harvard, Oxford and Columbia. They are involved in research, advocacy and setting up biotech companies. We help to shape their research pathways,” says Associate Professor Horvath.
“Another BMedSci alum even suggested establishing the program at another university in Indonesia, so we have a new partnership with Universitas Airlangga and next year we’ll have around 10 students from that university completing the program.”
The Universitas Indonesia partnership also led to the Partnership in Research Indonesia and Melbourne (PRIME).
Through this initiative, Melbourne-based researchers work with colleagues in universities across Indonesia and within the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology. Research and academic collaborations focus on health, social sciences and engineering to address global challenges confronting the world today.
“I’m delighted we are igniting the spark of curiosity and giving students a program that allows them to follow their curiosity, gives them confidence to explore and offers ways for them to move forward professionally,” says Associate Professor Horvath.