The Faculty of Pharmacy at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) organised a Virtual Summer School Program with the theme "Back to Nature" from October 17th to October 28th, 2022. The program offered a boundaryless learning experience that broadened the participant’s knowledge on topics relating to herbal resources from Malaysia and China. The programme also served as a platform to promote knowledge sharing among the participants from Southeast Asian countries.
The participation was encouraging, with six students from University Hasanuddin, Indonesia and one student from Universitas Jendral Achmad Yani, Indonesia having attended and successfully completed the 10-day programme. For this year’s summer school, the main component of the programme revolves around lectures and group activities related to the theme. The lecture series was delivered by keynote speakers from UiTM counterparts and MoU partners as well as our industry partners from Malaysia. Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (RISDA) representative Ms Amirah Abd Razak spoke on "Sustainability of Rubber Tapping Industries in Malaysia," and Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) representative Ms Sarafhana Dollah spoke on "Getting to Know Your Oil". Both speakers touched on the history, development, management and preservation of rubber and palm oil. Dr. Norkasihan Ibrahim, an academic lecturer from UiTM's Faculty of Pharmacy, spoke about "Kidney and Herbal Medicines," while Dr. Raphael N Alolga discussed the "Secret of Oriental Herbs".
Fun activities such as personalised games, quizzes as supplemental materials for lectures and content sharing activities about medicinal plants and its use were also part of the program. The participants were also tasked with unlocking checkpoints in the ‘Escape Game’ which was designed to equip them with soft skills. The whole programme was facilitated by students from the Faculty of Pharmacy, UiTM. In the future, the organiser hopes for a Summer School programme that can be conducted in person to experience the Malaysian spirit. We also anticipate more local and international participation in the next Summer School Program.
