The President of Kaohsiung Medical University (KMU) in Taiwan visited the Gold Coast campus recently to formalise KMU’s academic collaboration with Griffith Health.
KMU formally known as Kaohsiung Medical College (KMC), was established in 1954 and at the time was the first private institution of its kind in Taiwan.
Griffith University’s relationship with KMU began in February 2013 when Associate Professor Gary Rogers, Deputy Head, School of Medicine and Dr Kwong Chan, Senior Lecturer in Medical Education at School of Medicine (and a KMU Alumus) approached the President of KMU Prof Ching-Kuan Liu for a painting of the Confucian philosopher Xun Zi who addressed the essence of Clinical Skills teaching more than 2,200 years ago, when he said “Tell me and I will forget, Show me and I may remember, Involve me and I will understand”.
The relationship of the two Universities grew stronger after Associate Professor Rogers and Dr Chan were invited by KMU in October to join a clinical skills conference as a keynote speaker and workshop presenter.
Partnering with Asia
KMU is one of more than 20 partnerships established in Taiwan as Griffith strives to meet its goal for engagement with Asia.
At the recent visit, Professor Allan Cripps, Pro Vice Chancellor (Health) at Griffith welcomed the delegation led by Professor Liu, and including representatives from KMU’s Office of Global Affairs and a number of KMU Alumni as they met for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
“There are many similarities between the two institutions, which we see as advantageous to our goals for both our students and researchers,” Professor Cripps said.
“It is also a great opportunity for us both to meet with key staff and to provide a tour of our new facilities in the Griffith Health Centre.”
After the MOU signing, Associate Professor Rogers chaired a meeting between President Liu and representatives from all the Schools within the Health Group. They discussed opportunities for collaboration in developing clinical education programs and simulated patient training.
Partnerships could include a student exchange program, where fourth-year students from Griffith will visit KMU Hospital and KMU students will visit the Griffith School of Medicine; as well as,staff exchanges and joint outreach to third-world countries to offer support to regions in need of health and medical aid.