Update of the BMedSc.

Just in case you forgot, we have 9 students who are currently just finished their BMedSc program. Yes, the bloody year of sweat and stupid research is finally over and everyone says: Hallelujah!

Results are out and everyone's busy looking for houses/apartments, buying clothes and whatnots, learning how to cook/clean/wash and getting our letters of offer, confirmation of enrolment and visas. The last few tasks are no easy tasks. And with Christmas just around the corner and Uni of Queensland about to go on vacation along with the Australian High Comm, it is going to take a miracle of Christmas to get everything done.

Tentatively:
Adrian and Raj are leaving from Changi on 14th Jan.
The rest ie Me, Richard, Daniel, Linda and Ying Wei are leaving from KLIA on the 16th Jan. It's a night flight so M203-ians in Seremban, keep your schedule free on that day. I am hoping for a banner and lots and lots of people crying and waving, you know, like a real farewell. Haha. If you have read the lines properly, you would have noticed only 8 names were listed. Who is the missing dude?

Yes, TJ is missing, he is still thinking whether to go to Queensland with us, or take a year off and defer later. Long story on why, short story: he is planning to go on a music tour with the 1am band from church... I think. Still unsure of his side of the story.

Anyway, 9 of us now joins the rank of the others M203-ians who are known as postgraduate medical students like Phang, Ken Lin, Zi Sien to name a few. Sounds good right? Postgraduate medical student... gaya-nya (lame-nye).

"The number of students graduating from Sunway College is the same as the number of TOP students graduating from Taylor's College"
- Daniel, when my younger sister was contemplating on which college to apply to.

"The number of students graduating from I2/05 (M1/03) is the about the same number of 1st CLASS students graduating from I1/06 (M2/03)."
- Elena, making an observation of 6 students from M1/03 and 5 out of 9 1st class students of M2/03.

The number of BMedSc students are growing exponentially, and the places in the lab are constant. So there is going to be over saturation of students by year 2008 as the pharm students will be needing the labs too. IMU should really reconsider taking in Biotech students as well. And with Peter Pook (Pook Kor) predicting an intake of 100 students by the year 2010, things aren't looking so good from the point of research.

So what have I learnt in this 1 year of doing research?
Two words, my frens: It sucks!!!!

I am still wondering why the hell are these postgrad students doing research for?!!! It is totally fuckingly boring and strenous, not to mention that if you are unlucky enough to get supervisors who
a) don't give a shit about you
b) knows shit about the topic you are doing
c) teaches you the wrong technics
d) get on your nerves 24/7

But if you are lucky, you get supervisors who
a) writes the thesis for you
b) does your experiments for you
c) do your corrections for you
d) helps you with your homework

So again, getting a 1st class boils down to luck. So was I lucky or not? I would say that half half half. (Haha, can't really make up my mind).

Coming back to what I learnt in this 1 year:
- how to ampu ampu (flatter) supervisors
- how to do ELISA properly
- that talking to pregnant mothers are not fun
- get on the good side of nurses to get things done.
- staying late into the night in a lab is scary (especially if there is a ghost called Siti wandering around)
- good frens make life so much easier and funner and better.

Ok... at the end of the day, I may not have enjoyed the life in the labs and slaving and rushing for the completion of the thesis, but I have enjoyed the 1 year free from studying for medicine (which is a very bad thing, because I have totally forgotten everything that a medical student should know). And when we meet again (if we do meet), my namecard would be:

Dr. ELENA P. L. HOW
B.MedSc (M'sia), MBBS (Queensland)

Yay!!! I'm finally done with it! Brisbane, here I come!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following is meant for the debaters of M203.
NHSD has come and gone. Kamalan was DCA (bleah!), we sent 5 teams paired through selections.
1: Hai Liang & Prasad
2: Yih Seong & Deborah
3: Jesse & Ben (Sem 1)
4: Sem 1 kid & Pharm kid
5: Sem 1 kid & Pharm kid

Team IMU 1 & 2 broke at 3rd and 10th respectively. IMU 1 made it to finals.
OG: Daniel & Hafiz (UiTM)
OO: Big Boy & K-something (MMU)
CG: MMU (can't remember who's in the team)
CO: IMU 1
Motion: TH will not perform sex change in unknown sex babies (something to that extent. Can't remember exactly what it was. Basically, for babies who has both sexual organs should not undergo surgeries to determine their sex.)

Wasn't there for the debate, but OG set a lousy case (HL's words, not mine). Oh, IMU 1 got 2nd place with RM1000 as price. 1st place went to OO just because CG did not rebutt their points (I think it was all planned. Conspiracy theory). Well, IMU did great. So more budget to them. Yay. Too bad we aren't there to savor it. Blah.

********
End of post. Make sure you guys turn up to bid us farewell.

Takeover

Guess who made good money from IMU?

Khazanah buys IMU (Updated)

Email us your feedback at fd@bizedge.com

Khazanah Nasional Bhd is acquiring IMU Education Sdn Bhd, formerly Sesama Medical College Management Sdn Bhd, which owns and manages the International Medical University (IMU).

The acquisition will come after Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings Bhd (BCHB) group and two individuals proposed to sell their stakes in IMU to Pintar Selalu Sdn Bhd (PSSB).

BCHB said yesterday Khazanah and its nominees would then acquire the two ordinary shares of RM1 each in PSSB and subscribe for another 999,998 shares for RM145 million cash. Khazanah said by itself, it would subscribe for 674,998 shares representing a 67.5% in PSSB, which will wholly own IMU, for RM97.88 million.

BCHB said its subsidiaries Commerce Asset Ventures Sdn Bhd, CIMB Private Equity Sdn Bhd and Commerce Technology Ventures Sdn Bhd would sell their collective interest of 84.71% in IMU to PSSB.

The other vendors, Mei Ling Young and Ong Kok Hai, will also dispose of their collective stake of 15.29% of IMU to PSSB.

The total consideration for IMU comprises RM100 million cash and RM1.74 million Class A redeemable preference shares of one sen each (RPS-A).

BCHB said after Khazanah's subscription of the shares, the RPS-A would be entitled for free to RM139.35 million class B RPS to be issued by PSSB.

In a separate statement, Khazanah said the investment in IMU was part of its healthcare strategy and was in line with other acquisitions made in the last 15 months. "IMU is a complementary asset for Khazanah's investments in Pantai Holdings Bhd and Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd," it added.

Khazanah said the acquisitions addressed a strategic national objective in terms of the training of high quality medical personnel in Malaysia, particularly doctors and nurses.

It said IMU was the country's premier private medical university, offering students a high quality medically-related education alternative to studying abroad.

Founded by a team of academicians 15 years ago, the university now has a student population of over 1,800.

In partnership with 25 partner medical universities, students can also graduate with degrees in medicine from internationally recognised medical schools in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and United States.

Doesn't sound too good for IMU, does it?