The outbreak of Covid-19 was the most significant public health emergency of the 21st century and prompted people to learn more about viruses and other related aspects of biological sciences. However, many remain unaware that the battle against Covid-19 has been led by biotechnologists who have been responsible for the identification of the pathogen, understanding the strain of the virus, the mode of transfer, and diagnostic methods, in order to design and develop vaccines.
“If the world is without biotechnology, humanity will have no way of developing vaccines for Covid-19,” says Professor Dr Wong Ling Shing, Dean of the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences (FHLS) at INTI International University.
Simultaneously, how universities keep abreast with the current phenomena and teach students about the pandemic in real-time has also become a part of the “new normal” for academics across the world.
Responding to the need to integrate the learnings of this year into their students’ academic journey, the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences (FHLS) at INTI International University, swiftly adapted its curriculum to incorporate this new information into its lectures and tutorial sessions, as an effort to expand the understanding among the Bachelor of Biotechnology degree students.
“This is part of INTI’s DNA – to be the champion of change in reinventing education so that our students can become leaders in solving tomorrow’s challenges,” shared Professor Dr Wong Ling Shing, Dean of FHLS, who has served with the faculty for more than twelve years.
Prof Wong, an appellation his students use to address him, further explained, “Covid-19 is very closely knitted with biotechnology. While medical personnel serve as the front liners in managing the spread of the disease, biotechnologists serve in the back end to provide them with the knowledge, scientific data and drugs to fight the pandemic. If the world is without biotechnologists, humanity will have no way to develop vaccines for Covid-19 or other diseases.”
During the Covid-19 pandemic, biotechnology students picked up valuable information about the immune system’s response to this virus, clinical microbiology and disease, the identification of the novel viruses and diagnostic tools for Covid-19 viruses as part of their modules.
Using this real-life golden opportunity to teach students about the importance of biotechnology, Prof Wong and the FHLS academic teams have made sure to connect the global catastrophe with the knowledge provided in textbooks. For him, this is an opportunity for his team of academics to enlighten their students on how important they are in saving the world from this or future pandemics.
As the programme structure of INTI’s three years’ Bachelor of Biotechnology (Hons) degree includes modules on Immunology, Microbiology, Bioinformatics, Bioinstrumentation and Analytical Techniques, new information that has been incorporated into these modules include the immune system’s response to the Covid-19 virus, clinical microbiology and disease, the identification of novel viruses, and diagnostic tools for Covid-19 viruses.
According to Prof Wong, the lecturers went through three stages of preparations themselves in order to integrate the additional information into their classes. This included gathering the facts and scientific details behind the pandemic, connecting the facts to their ongoing lessons, and lastly, preparing the additional materials to deliver the additional information to their students.
“We always strive to adapt and innovate our teaching, and our lecturers are willing to go the extra mile to disseminate useful information in the classroom that we know reflects the needs of our ever-changing world,” he added.
Prof Wong indicated that the valuable experiences that students gain throughout this fluid learning process include the development of their creativity, innovativeness and resilience in the face of adversity.
“Creativity, innovation and resilience have played an important role in biotechnological developments, which included the breakthrough of developing the first antibiotics by Alexander Fleming; the first vaccine by Edward Jenner; and the discovery of the inheritance factors by Gregor Mendel, and they all changed the world!” he cited.
“For students, relating what they learn in the classroom to the things that are happening around them is extremely important, as this will make the learning process more interesting. This will ultimately motivate them to dive deeper into the field. Learning about the infection modes of viruses can be boring. But not when they learn to use that knowledge to develop antiviral drugs or even vaccines for diseases such as Covid-19!”
In addition to real-life applications, he also shared that INTI’s academics always integrate industry best practices into their classroom learning. Prior to movement controls, the faculty organised field trips to biotechnology companies to enable students to study their biotechnology processes. Experts and successful biotechnologists are also welcomed as part of guest lectures and workshops, and biotechnology companies work with faculty to provide real-world industry-relevant projects for students to work on.
Speaking about career paths for those pursuing biotechnology, Prof Wong elaborated, “Agricultural and industrial biotechnology are now the main players in Malaysia’s market. Gaining exposure and hands-on experiences early mean students have a clearer view of their career path. Medical biotechnology is also now picking up as an important field of the future. As bacteria are getting stronger in resistance to existing drugs and as we are exposed to more types of viruses and other pathogens, we will need more experts to work in this field.”
Apart from his role as a dean, Prof Wong shared his thoughts as an established researcher and world citizen, “Global challenges in healthcare and diseases, waste management, energy consumption, water resources and food production, are all closely related to biotechnology. While we need more experts to attend to these challenges, we must in the first place take care of our mother earth to ensure we leave a healthy world for our future generations.”