29 May 2008 - SEGi College, Malaysia and Tropicana Medical Centre signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today witnessed by the Y. Bhg. Dato’ Seri Dr. Hj. Mohd. Nasir bin. Mohd Ashraf, Secretary General of the Ministry of Health, representing the Minister of Health, YB Dato’ Liow Tiong Lai.

Signing the MOU are Dr. Colin Lee – Founder and Managing of TMC Life Sciences Berhad, Bryan Lin – Group Chief Executive Officer, Hospital Administration of TMC Life Sciences Berhad, Mr. Lee Kok Cheng – Chief Operating Officer of SEG International Bhd and Professor Dr. Muhamad Bin Awang – Chief Executive of SEGi College, Malaysia.

Also attending the event are Mr. Amos Siew – Executive Director of SEG International Bhd and Executive Director of TMC Life Sciences Bhd, Dr. Wong Wah Hun – Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy and Health Sciences of SEGi College Malaysia, Professor Emeritus Dato’ Dr. Khalid Abdul Kadir – Chairman of TMC Life Sciences Berhad, and Ms. Wenddi-Anne Chong, Executive Director of TMC Life Sciences Bhd. The ceremony was also attended by senior management staff of SEGi Group and TMC Medical Centre, and other dignitaries.

Under the MOU, which is for a period of 5 years, pharmacy and nursing students at SEGi College Malaysia will be able to utilise the facilities in Tropicana Medical Centre for practical training. The memorandum also allows for Tropicana Medical Centre to select nursing and pharmacy graduates for employment at the hospital.

SEGi students sent to Tropicana Medical Centre for practical training will follow the practical training according to SEGi’s official course of study supervised by the College’s tutors. TMC Group in turn will benefit through continuous professional development and enjoy a tuition fee rebate for six TMC Group-sponsored students per annum.

Professor Dr. Muhamad Bin Awang, Chief Executive of SEGi College, Malaysia, said, “Today’s MOU signing with Tropicana Medical Centre depicts SEGi’s strive for education excellence as we ensure our nursing and pharmacy students are given a chance for practical training using the advanced facilities at Tropicana Medical Centre.”

“Aside from this, we are also very pleased to have this chance to work with Tropicana Medical Centre, as it is a highly respected and reputable medical centre poised to meet the local and regional demands for specialized healthcare for women and children, apart from providing fertility treatment and other medical specialist services. We believe our partnership with Tropicana Medical Centre in educating and nurturing the young minds of Malaysia will be a successful collaboration,” added Muhamad.

The MOU is a step towards the development of human resources in terms of increasing quality health care services. As the industry grows, there is a definite need to have continuous improvement in the training of healthcare employees. This development of health care human resources is to cater for both local and global needs.

“The quality of nurses we are to produce should meet the standards of the global healthcare community for we are looking at exporting our expertise to overseas. As such, we hold high importance in the quality of our nursing graduates,” added Muhamad.

Bryan Lin, Group Chief Executive Officer, Hospital Administration of TMC Life Sciences Berhad, said in his speech that the ultimate aim of Tropicana Medical Centre is to become patients’ destination of choice by developing medical centres of excellence, by hiring pool of specialist doctors, investing in advanced and high-technology equipment, and building a team of dedicated and qualified support staff.

Lin said: “With the signing of this agreement, Tropicana Medical Centre would be able to play a key role in initiating students majoring in nursing and pharmacy to the working environment in a fully equipped tertiary hospital. And in so doing, SEGi College and Tropicana Medical Centre will work hand-in-hand in a synergistic manner to prepare these students for the working environment in both theoretical and practical terms.”

“Not only that, the first-mover advantage granted to us in selecting the best nursing and students from SEGi would certainly allow to place our best foot forward in building a highly-skilled team of support staff in our hospital,” added Lin.