In a celebration held in Jakarta in November 2023, the University of Melbourne and Universitas Indonesia medical schools came together to celebrate a partnership that has spanned over 20 years. This fruitful, long-running collaboration led to a more recent partnership with Universitas Airlangga, which has already run for over four years.
An example of the value that partnerships can create is the graduation of 470 Indonesian medical students with a Bachelor of Medical Sciences (BMedSci) from the University of Melbourne (now a BMedSci (Hons)) and a medical degree from Universitas Indonesia.
Covering a range of clinical disciplines, including medicine and dentistry, the current BMedSci (Hons) investigates how scientific discovery and evidence can best be used to support clinical practice and encourages a comprehensive investigation into the design, recording, reporting, and delivery of clinical research according to ethical standards.
Forging flexible post graduate pathways to international programs
Melbourne and Indonesia-based students undertaking the BMedSci (Hons) receive hands-on experience with successful clinicians and researchers at the University of Melbourne and partner healthcare providers affiliated with teaching hospitals in the Melbourne Biomedical Precinct.
Many graduates have pursued higher degrees and professional research projects with some of the world’s leading global universities, including Oxford University and Harvard University.
Deepening graduates’ understanding of medical research methodologies and clinical practice
Dr Aldo Fransiskus Marsetio and Dr Annemarie Chrysantia Melati are just two early-career researchers who travelled to Melbourne to study a BMedSci at the University’s Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences.
Dr Marsetio and Dr Melati's experiences in Melbourne gave them invaluable opportunities to follow their passions, deepen their understanding of medical methodologies and interest in medical research, and cultivate successful careers in Indonesia.
Today, Dr Marsetio works as an orthopaedic sports surgeon, conducting outpatient clinic consultations and undertaking various surgical procedures at Abdi Waluyo Hospital. Dr Melati is an anaesthesiologist specialising in perioperative medicine, geriatric anaesthesia and regional anaesthesia at Premier Bintaro Hospital.
Read more: Celebrating Universitas Indonesia 20-year partnership (unimelb.edu.au)
Melbourne Dental School's visit to Indonesia (unimelb.edu.au)
Universitas Airlangga students' two-week visit (unimelb.edu.au)