Broadening horizons
In January 2018 a delegation of volunteers and officials attended the formal opening of the College’s International Office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The inauguration, a wonderful occasion attended by university and Ministry of Health Malaysia representatives and His Royal Highness Tuanku Muhriz Ibni Almarhum Tuanku Munawir, ruler of the state of Negeri Sembilan, was the culmination of months of hard work to cement the relationship between the College and its Malaysian partners.
It all started at the end of 2016 when, following a generous offer from the management of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, the College Council resolved to establish a large-scale base outside the UK. Because of the country’s key position in Southeast Asia, and thanks to long-standing partnerships with local institutions, Malaysia was the perfect candidate to welcome this International Office, the first in the College’s 500-year history.
With the opening of the office, the College aimed to collaborate with local organisations to increase activities in the region, support and develop its local membership, facilitate Members’ involvement in College life, and undertake projects beneficial to the surgical and dental community. It is a demonstration of our commitment to our international membership in the long term.
“We worked closely with our partners in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore to enhance specialist surgical training”
There have been many successes during these five years. The College increased its Malaysian membership by 50% between 2018 and 2023. Our indefatigable team of staff and volunteers examined more than 700 MRCS Part B candidates and 500 candidates for the MFDS part 2, despite the prolonged interruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is worth noting that the International Office did fulfil its brief of being a regional hub, with candidates coming in strong contingents from Bangladesh, Singapore, Pakistan, India and further afield.
We hosted a variety of events to engage with existing and prospective Members. We held three President’s or Vice-President’s forums, and launched our 2019–2022 International Strategy at an event attended by Members and Fellows.
We also held our first diploma ceremony in Malaysia in 2022, with 66 diplomates attending from Malaysia, Australia, Singapore, India, Egypt and Pakistan. The demand for this ceremony was higher than we could accommodate due to the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, so it was a great pleasure to host our second Malaysian ceremony in August 2023, with more than 100 diplomates on the waiting list.
Strong Collaborations
In spite of all the COVID-related challenges, we managed to strengthen our relationships with the Ministry and local charities. The co-hosting of a conference held in Kuching in December 2022 enabled the College to contribute to the advancement of the national agenda around remote and rural healthcare.
The College worked closely with its partners in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore to support and enhance specialist surgical training in the region. An MoU signed in 2018 between the four countries encouraged better institutional collaboration in education and assessment.
It also recognised and validated the standards of assessment of cardiothoracic trainees: in 2022, Malaysia hosted its first diet of the Joint Surgical Fellowship Exam in cardiothoracic surgery, with eight local candidates passing successfully. This was the culmination of a project undertaken several years ago when the College was invited to support the development of the parallel pathway curriculum to provide ongoing quality assurance for the centres involved in the programme.
Another achievement was the establishment of the Tuanku Muhriz Fellowship in Remote and Rural Surgery, co-funded by the College and private Malaysian donors. This Fellowship enables UK surgeons with an interest in remote and rural healthcare to observe, experience and report on infrastructure and practices in challenging environments.
Post-Covid turnaround
The pandemic presented significant challenges, but our commitment to Malaysia and our international ambitions remained undimmed. Due to local restrictions and to protect our staff, the office was closed for the best part of a year. Travel was impossible for nearly two years, virtually stopping any activity. It is worth remembering that when Malaysia finally reopened to travel in early 2022, the office had lived half of its short life under COVID-19 conditions.
The turnaround in activity has been remarkably successful. We have regained momentum and are concluding these first five years full of optimism for the future.
The College’s contribution to surgical education were recognised in June at the 4th British Malaysia Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards. The College received the second runner-up prize in the UK-Malaysia Education Institutional Partnership category. We stood out among a competitive field of more than 50 nominees, and our work with UKM and the Ministry of Health was noted for its quality, and the impact it has on surgical and dental training and assessment. This was a significant milestone for the College and the International Office’s team.
Our fifth anniversary celebrations, which took place in August in Kuala Lumpur, brought together all the partners who have made this endeavour possible.
Over five days, a host of events enabled dozens of clinicians to be involved in the office’s life: two diets of MRCS, one diet of MFDS, our first International Dental Skills Competition, a President’s Forum and Members’ engagement workshop, the first in-person Anatomy Course, an anniversary dinner and a large diploma ceremony. It was a wonderful opportunity for all those involved to celebrate, reflect on the journey and achievements so far, and develop new ideas.
“We are looking forward to exchanging and developing new projects with sister organisations”
The International Office has an exciting future. There are activities already scheduled for the coming months. These include examinations and courses; contributions to the remote and rural agenda; strengthening of the bonds with local organisations, and local and national government; and new initiatives such as Fellowships aimed at young Malaysian trainees willing to obtain a first training experience in the UK.
We will be busy in the first half of 2024 as we move to a new location in purpose-built premises in the city of Putrajaya. Sitting with key medical institutions such as the College of Surgeons, the Academy of Medicine and a number of specialty associations, we are looking forward to exchanging and developing new projects with sister organisations.
Looking ahead
We will continue to serve our local Malaysian membership, but also our wider membership in Southeast Asia. The office’s core purpose is to be a regional hub – the challenges of the past few years slowed down but did not extinguish our ambitions and it will be a key objective for the team to broaden the office’s horizons in the next five years. We want to ensure our Members and friends in Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong and further afield can enjoy the benefits of having the College brought closer to them. We look forward to more progress, projects and anniversaries in the years ahead.
To find out more about our International Office and upcoming events email international@rcsed.ac.uk or rcsedmalaysia@rcsed.ac.uk
The College’s Office Bearers get ready for the diploma ceremony
The College’s Office Bearers get ready for the diploma ceremony
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