LKCMedicine @ NTU Virtual Open House 2023

LKCMedicine today hosted a dynamic and lively Open House online for prospective students and their parents. Held “live” as part of the NTU Virtual Open House, the event gave visitors deeper insights into the School’s curriculum, pedagogy and student life.

Through a live talk on YouTube and Instagram, Team Based Learning (TBL) demonstrations and a full day of live chats, visitors had the opportunity to hear first-hand from our faculty, students and alumnus. The event saw over 350 visitors  joining in across the different online platforms throughout the day!

This is the first of two Open Houses that LKCMedicine will be organising this year, with the in-person event to be held at the NTU main campus on 25 February.

The event kicked off with a pre-recorded message by Vice-Dean (Education) Professor Jennifer Cleland who warmly welcomed the attendees and gave an introduction of LKCMedicine’s world-class MBBS programme.

This was followed by a live talk on YouTube and Instagram where Assistant Dean for Year 5 Associate Professor Tham Kum Ying provided an overview of the School’s award-winning medical curriculum and innovative pedagogy. A/Prof Tham also covered key topics including the overseas student electives, the admission criteria, application process as well as scholarships and bursaries that are available. 

Next, viewers heard from LKCMedicine students Oh Shu Xin (M4) and Soon Wei Ze (M3) on their experience in medical school covering the pre-clinical and clinical years. They also highlighted the vibrant student life and the close-knit LKCMedicine family. Alumnus Dr Lee Cheok Hon (Class of 2019) then talked about working life as junior doctor and how LKCMedicine’s MBBS programme equipped him for practice.

The session wrapped up with an engaging Q&A session addressing wide-ranging questions from the audience. Prof Tham and the students gave insightful responses on topics such as the admissions process and criteria, financial aid for students, the School’s dual campus, research opportunities and challenges that doctors face.

Commenting on the two Open Houses this year, A/Prof Tham said, “It’s great to have a hybrid where we get to do the live talk and have a broadcast. With Singapore going to DORSCON Green, the in-person event at the various venues will be equally exciting!”

Shu Xin recalled that it was a daunting process thinking about which medical school to apply to and hopes that today’s session will enable prospective students to learn more about LKCMedicine.

“Going for these events helps to give you a better idea of what the school has to offer and how it differentiates itself from other schools and whether this is where you want to spend five years of your life. Medical school is hard but the people that you do it with, the teaching culture, the professors and what the school likes to focus make a huge difference as to what kind of doctors you become when you graduate,” she said. 

Dr Lee was excited to be back on campus again for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic to speak at the Virtual Open House.

He said, “The sessions give you a chance to ask all the questions you have, no-holds-barred and straight up everything you could ever want to know about Medicine. You get the hard factual content, in terms of the academic requirements for application, the academic/professional/moral demands of a medical student and future doctor, and the downsides and upsides or risks/rewards of being in the medical profession.”

Following the live talk, attendees were invited to participate in an online TBL demonstration, held over two sessions, where they could get a taste of the School’s innovative teaching approach and core pedagogy.

Led by TBL facilitators Dr Han Siew Ping and Dr Tay Zheng Huan, participants experienced what it was like to be part of a TBL session. Dr Han started off with an overview of the key features of TBL, the learning spaces on campus and the integrated digital learning ecosystem. Participants were then assigned to breakout rooms where they were guided along by LKCMedicine students for a discussion on questions related to COVID-19 testing.

At the end of each session, the facilitators and students addressed questions from the participants such as the frequency of TBL sessions, how TBL teams are formed, the effectiveness of TBL, and interaction with the teachers. The students added on by sharing their perspectives and how this approach helped in their learning and clinical postings.

LKCMedicine Year 1 student Sia Juling, who volunteered at the TBL demonstration, said, “I noticed that the way it was structured and the way the conversations were carried out were similar to what happens in our actual lessons. It was very good that it was so accurate and it gives students a good picture of what to expect when they come to the school.”

Another student volunteer Yeo Limin (M1) added, “It was very exciting to see a lot of prospective students who are interested to see what TBL is like. It was a conducive size and it was good that there were student volunteers and facilitators to help facilitate the session and to give a good idea of what it would be like.”

Throughout the day, visitors had the chance to engage with LKCMedicine students across Years 1 to 5 through a live chat. Responding in real-time, they drew from their experiences at LKCMedicine and provided well-thought-out answers to address the different queries.

It was yet another successful run of the Virtual Open House, where visitors had a highly interactive experience of the very best of what the School had to offer. Join us at the in-person Open House on 25 February and look out for more details on our website.