Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Bertam Campus, has established the first collaboration with Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia with the help of Dr. Andi Hermansyah from the Faculty of Pharmacy.
A co-class collaboration as part of the philosophy of pharmacy program and introduction of the pharmacy practice syllabus was held and students from Airlangga University and UiTM attended this online class on 28 October 2020 through video conferencing via ZOOM. This online class also was alternatively broadcasted on the Youtube platform.
For the introduction part, Nursyuhada Azzman from UiTM introduced two alternative pathways for pharmacy graduates which are Military Pharmacy and Maritime Pharmacy. This was then followed by practice change in Malaysia under the liberalization of internships in the pharmacy where graduates can choose their pathway from the very beginning of their career.
The talk then continued with a brief talk from Prof. Umi Athiyah on a long-term collaboration between both universities. Dr. Andi Hermansyah proceeds with the topic ‘Shifting practice in Indonesia’ where he explained the stage of development and the changing landscape of the pharmacy sector where he introduced the national insurance for Indonesia which is known as Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional (JKN).
The change in the practice opens a wider opportunity window for those in the community pharmacy to practice and deliver more services to the patients.
This co-class collaboration indeed is a new experience for the Faculty of Pharmacy, UiTM as this is the first-time students received exposure to the practice of pharmacy from neighboring countries while Airlangga University students were excited about the alternative careers offered in pharmacy.