Credit transfer into program at the University of Newcastle.

Science has seen mankind’s quality of life improve by leaps and bounds since the bubonic plague plunged Europe into the Dark Ages. As much as scientific progress in vaccines has resolved historically deadly diseases such as polio and others, the continual emergence of new and old diseases emphasizes the importance of medical biotechnology to improve healthcare delivery.

Throughout history, we have benefitted from these amazing discoveries; from Edward Jenner who created the world’s first vaccination for small pox, to the use of contact lenses to non-invasively monitor blood glucose in diabetic patients, and up to today where scientists have created biotechnology software to identify human faces with DNA left behind at crime scenes as well as wearable tattoos to monitor our important body functions by sending the information directly to the smart phones of our doctors.

Medical biotechnology students at IMU will learn how to contribute towards developing beneficial products to prevent and treat human diseases, learn how to communicate your findings to the general public and eventually to market your own biotechnology products and set up your own companies.

Amongst the teaching methodologies conducted in the programme include: face-to-face lectures, laboratory practicals, small group teaching (problem based learning and tutorials), workshops, computer-aided learning (CAL), seminars, presentations, industrial visits, video reviews, internships, guided reading and portfolio as well as original and independent research work.

Career Pathway

Employment opportunities are readily available in both public and private universities, research organisations, multinational and BioNexus-status companies. BioNexus status is only awarded to international and Malaysian companies which have the capacity to develop technically and nurture biotechnologically skills with the right infrastructure and production capabilities. Since 2005, Bioeconomy Corporation has facilitated the development of 268 BioNexus-status companies in Malaysia and these companies are critically in need of a skilled work force in biotechnology industries.