Singapore, 14 August 2018 – SingHealth and the Singapore Management University (SMU) are embarking on a partnership to train the university’s undergraduates in the new Health Economics and Management (HEM) second major. Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for Health witnessed the inking of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the partners today at the opening ceremony of the Singapore Healthcare Management Congress.
The collaboration, which aims to nurture a pipeline of local graduates who are equipped with knowledge in healthcare administration, is the first-of-its-kind in Singapore.
Commencing in January 2019, the programme is open to all SMU students in their first or second year of study. The curriculum jointly curated by SMU and SingHealth, covers areas that are of increasing importance in the healthcare sector including Health Systems and Policy, Applied Analytics in Healthcare Management, Operations and Supply Chain Management as well as Medical Sociology. (Refer to Annex for the full list of modules)
Beyond the classroom setting, students will undergo a 10-week or six-month internship programme at SingHealth’s healthcare institutions.
Professor Ivy Ng, Group Chief Executive Officer, SingHealth, said, “The internship will provide the students with opportunities to observe what they have learnt in school being applied in practice in real-life healthcare settings. More importantly, they will acquire valuable hands-on experience to prepare them to be effective healthcare administrators under the guidance and mentorship of our experienced healthcare staff. We are excited to partner SMU in this important endeavor to groom the next generation of healthcare administrators, who will play a critical role in shaping the future of healthcare.”
Prof Lily Kong, SMU Provost and Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Social Sciences, said: “SMU is delighted to partner with SingHealth to incorporate practice-based learning in the new major in Health Economics and Management. Our close collaboration presents an opportunity for students to learn best practices and work on real industry challenges in SingHealth’s vast network of healthcare institutions. In line with SMU’s strong emphasis on experiential learning, this work-based learning programme equips students with practical skills and knowledge, valuable first-hand experience of the healthcare environment, and enriches their understanding of the industry’s multi-faceted demands and opportunities.”
This is the second formal training partnership between SingHealth and SMU. In 2009, the SMU-SingHealth Graduate Diploma in Healthcare Management & Leadership was launched to groom healthcare leaders by equipping them with healthcare management and business leadership skills. To date, 216 clinicians and healthcare administrators from Singapore and the region have graduated from the programme. This year will see the 10th cohort of 22 participants undergo the 5 month programme from June to October 2018.
Singapore Healthcare Management Congress 2018
The MOU was signed at the opening ceremony of the 8th Singapore Healthcare Management Congress, held at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre. More than 1,400 healthcare administrators from Singapore and the region will attend the three-day congress from 14-16August 2018.
The annual event is the leading platform in the region for healthcare administrators to share best practices in hospital operations, supply chain management, risk management, human resource, service quality, finance and healthcare communications.
This year, a record number of 438 posters were submitted by participating institutions including Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, National University Hospital, Farrer Park Hospital as well as institutions under the SingHealth Group. The projects showcase a wide range of innovative practices which have resulted in cost savings, greater efficiency as well as improvements in patient experience and satisfaction.
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Featured Photo: MOU signing between Prof Lily Kong, Provost, SMU (left) and Prof Ivy Ng, Group CEO, SingHealth (right), witnessed by Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for Health.
Photo credit: SingHealth
For media quries, please contact:
SingHealth
Lo Sok Wan
Group Communications
DID: +65 6377 8048 | lo.sok.wan@singhealth.com.sg
SMU
Valerie Won
Office of Corporate Communications and Marketing
DID: +65 6828 0020 | valeriewon@smu.edu.sg
