Officials from UP Manila, through the National Teacher Training Center for Health Professions (NTTCHP), and Inje University Busan Paik Hospital, South Korea expressed their intent to collaborate on research and student and faculty exchanges in pursuit of healthcare innovation to keep up with the ever evolving health industry.

“Our institution has a long and proud history of excellence in health sciences and education, but the healthcare landscape is constantly evolving and new challenges demand innovative solutions. That’s why we’re thrilled to embark on this exciting collaborative journey together”, NTTCHP Asst. Prof. Monica Walet said in a meeting on March 18, 2024. The meeting was facilitated by the UPM Office of International Linkages (OIL).

The learning institutions recognized the need for further training of personnel to improve performance of healthcare professionals and to keep abreast of the latest innovations on healthcare.

In the meeting, visiting university representatives showed video presentations highlighting their institutions’ achievements and areas of expertise.

Meanwhile, Dean Melflor Atienza of the NTTCHP introduced three graduate degree programs, one of which was conceived during the pandemic. These are Master in Health Professions Education (MHPEd, Professional Track), Master of Arts in Health Professions Education (MAHPEd, Academic Track), and Doctor of Health Professions Education (DrHPEd).

“With those three programs, many of our graduates as well as our partners like the Department of Health and Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, would engage with us in terms of research for online training for the professionals. Aside from doing collaborative research, we also have some extension service or public service,” Dean Atienza said.

She also shared a topic during a focused group discussion she attended with the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) about focusing on improving global and local research potential of the Philippines, encouraging more collaboration not only in academic aspects but also in terms of research and program development.

“It was a good eye opener to me that NAST, which advises to the President of the Philippines on Science and Technology matters, is really moving towards making the Philippines competitive in the global sea. And a lot of the things that were discussed were really issues, not only on resources, but also on motivating Filipinos to really go into research, especially in health and engineering,” Dean Atienza shared.

Also in the meeting, Professor Jin Han of Inje University discussed the importance of studying and producing researches on cardiovascular diseases (CVDS). The discussion centered on the exploration of opportunities for education and collaboration activities in medical education, joint research activities, exchange of best practices on robotics, joint symposiums or conferences and benchmarking activities.

Professor Jin Han and Vice Director Professor Hyoung Kyu Kim, from the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease Core Research Center (CMDC) at Inje University Busan Paik Hospital, were present at the meeting. They were joined by Postdoctoral Researchers Dr. Jeong Rim Ko, Dr. Nammi Park, and Dr. Hyeong Rok Yoon. Additionally, three Filipino CMDC Postdoctoral Researchers, who are alumni of UP Manila College of Medicine—Dr. Jubert Marquez, Dr. Maria Victoria Faith Garcia, and Ms. Jessa Flores—also participated in the meeting.

UP Manila representatives in attendance were Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dr. Gina S. Salazar; Dean Melflor Atienza of the National Teachers Training Center for Health Professions (NTTCHP); Chair of the Office of Research and Development, Prof. Erlyn Sana; College Secretary and Chair of the Office of the Curriculum and Instruction, Assoc. Prof. Emely Dicolen; and Chair of the Office of External Linkages, Asst. Prof. Walet.

Text by: Angelou Mendoza
Photo by: Erlyn May Pareja