UP is establishing a new Polyclinic on Street 184, almost opposite the main UP gate. With reconstruction work well under way, the 3-floor building will house a huge new pharmacy on the ground floor, a medical clinic on the second floor, and a dental clinic on floors 1 and 2, with 22 new chairs and a range of brand new equipment. This will bring to 43 the total number of dental chairs across the existing Dental Hospital and the Polyclinic.

The Faculty of Dentistry looks forward to improving students’ clinical experience with the new clinic, as well as massively expanding our range of postgraduate clinical courses.

UP now has the most chairs of any dental school in Cambodia, and we have the opportunity to double our number of patients. In addition to the extra brand new dental chairs, we will be recruiting new dental assistants, dental residents and dental tutors. Our private services by our residents and specialists will also increase once the new clinic is completed.

The equipment for the new clinic has been ordered and includes top quality Belmont chairs, and German compressors and suction units. It is expected that the clinic will be operational from February 2023.

The renovation work is being carried out by the Unident Company which has vast experience in building top quality clinics. The new Polyclinic Manager, Mr Andrew Sinclair is holding weekly planning meetings to ensure that everything is ready to go once the building work is done.

Thanks to UP and our President Ian Findlay for having the vision to provide this wonderful new clinical facility which will help cement our place as the best dental school in Cambodia.

Meet UP’s NEE Preparatory Course Teachers

Up is one of the very few universities that run courses to help students pass the National Entrance Exam – and what a fantastic highly educated and experienced team we have!!!

Your chance is NOW! UP Scholarship is now OPEN!

Submit scholarship application form via: https://www.puthisastra.edu.kh/scholarship-application-form/
Deadline of scholarship application: 9th February 2023

The University of Puthisastra is committed to ensuring access to its outstanding academic programs and services for a range of high achieving Cambodian students. As such, the University has developed a scholarships program which is available based on financial need and merit through a highly selective application process. The University seeks high need students who have excelled academically and who have participated in extracurricular activities especially community service in Cambodia.

The objective of the scholarships program is to identify and develop student leaders who will prepare to become Cambodia’s next healthcare and information technology leaders. Thus, after selection, scholarship winners will become part of the scholarships program community of UP student leaders. They will be expected to continue their participation in leadership on and off campus and will have opportunities to participatein leadership training programs.

For more information, please send us a message or contact Student Support Office.

UP launches Pop-UP Campaign at AEON Mall Sen Sok City

Pop-UP Campaign offers the chance for potential High School students and also parents to get up close and personal
interaction with the University of Puthisastra (UP) in a truly immersive setting from 12th – 13th, January 2023.

Visitors on that days got a chance to interact with the current undergraduates as well as the teaching Faculty members to find out more about the majors available, career listings, and to try some experiments related to the degree courses offered at UP. Many visitors drop by our booth to get their photo taken with Human Skeleton, and get their vital sign on site with close supervision of UP faculty staff members.
Thanks for spending two days with us at UP booth. We hope to bring you more special events in the near future!

Health Sciences and Biotechnology Joined the Pop-Up Campaign at ÆON MALL Sen Sok

The Faculty of Health Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Puthisastra, joined the booth of the Pop-Up Campaign at ÆON MALL Sen Sok. The event was held for two days, January 12 and 13, 2023. It should be noted that the University of Puthisastra will have Pop-UP Campaign in Phnom Penh along with presence of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Biotechnology.

For more information:
– Associate of Medical Laboratory please join the university’s official Telegram Group via https://t.me/+3elkZJiyV-BmOTZl
– Sciences Research please join the university’s official Telegram Group via https://t.me/+VYAjSYseT4A3ZjM1

100% PASS RATE FOR IMPLANT COURSE

Last week was the final week of the Unident-Dentsply-UP Implant Course. UP has partnered with the Unident company to run this course for many years. The course started in May 2022 and over the following 8 months the 25 dentists undertook a series of theory modules, lab exercises, and clinical work in order to graduate.

At the end of the course each participant placed one or two implants on live patients at the UP Dental Hospital. The course convener and head lecturer was Dr Chav Bunhean, one of Cambodia’s top implantologists, who has a Masters degree in Implantology from Frankfurt University in Germany. He was assisted by UP lecturer Dr Peung Kimsreang, who has a Masters in Endodontics and a Diploma in Implantology. The course was a great success, and finished with an award ceremony at UP attended by Dean of Dentistry Professor Callum Durward.

Among those receiving awards were several UP alumni including Dr Khy Daravuth, Dr Bun Sophealeak, and Dr Theam Terong. In addition, Dr Soeurn Visal (Head of Prosthodontics at UP) and Dr Sreng Rithy (Lecturer in Prosthodontics at UP), also graduated. Dr Daravuth and Dr Visal were among the top three in the class to graduate. Having successfully completed the course, the graduates now have the opportunity to obtain a Diploma of Implantology from Frankfurt University, if they submit and defend 5 implant cases that they have treated.

The visit from delegation of Japanese Association of Medical Technologist to University of Puthisastra

The delegates from Japanese Association of Medical Technologist (JAMT), which included Prof. YOSHIFUMI MIYAJIMA (representative director and President of JAMT), Prof. HIROHIKO KATAYAMA (International University of Health and Welfare), Prof. SHIGEKI MISAWA (Juntendo University Tokyo), Prof. MITSUKI NAGASAWA (Representative Director and Vice presidents of JAMT), visited University of Puthisastra. Professor Ket Vansith and senior staff accompanied this visit from the VS Laboratory and Cambodian Association of Medical Technologist (CAMT). There was a warm welcome by Dr. Chea Sin, Dean of pharmacy, faculty staff from Pharmacy and Faculty of Health Science and Biotechnology. The purpose of this visit is to explore joint research, training, and human resource development for the Cambodian health sector, as well as identifying internship possibilities at IUHW.

Pharmacy faculty join Leadership Development Program arranged by UYFC

Mr. Chhea Sophearom, Mr. Sor Darayuth, Mr. Eang Phanith, from UP Pharmacy participated in the Leadership Development Program (Good Seed) organized by the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia in Phnom Penh from 12-16 December 2023

Good seeds have 10 topics:
1. Philosophy of Law taught by H.E Chhot Bunthong
2. Political economy, macro theory taught by H.E Huot Pum
3. Individuals and Politics Taught by H.E Dr. Un Leang
4. Interpretation method taught by H.E Prum Virak
5. Social Turn in History Taught by H.E Dr. Sorn Samnang
6. World Law System Taught by H.E Dr. Prohm Vichet Akhra
7. Political Geography Taught by Professor Tean Samnang
8. Political Parties and Party Systems taught by H.E Dr. Sok Keang
9. Social Psychology taught by Professor Srun Hour
10. Multicultural Management taught by Professor Su Phalla

For the 5 days, the faculty staff would like to thank His Excellency, Dr. and the professors for taking the time to select good topics and present them as good capital and financial assistance to all of us. Be wise in leading the future of Cambodia.

Collaborating Centre for Innovation in Population Oral Health (CIPO)- A team to focus on community dentistry

In January 2023 a new team was formed under the Faculty of Dentistry to focus on developing knowledge and understanding around population oral health in Cambodia. The team is led by Dr Tida Sieng and Dr Bethy Turton (Boston University) as co directors and the vision is that will help to build the capacity of the Cambodian health system to deliver the highest attainable standard of oral health care. We also have Mr Kimhab (dental nurse), Ms Srey Nich (dental nurse) and Ms Nary (dental assistant)

– the CIPO team will operate out of UP, but will spend much of their time in the provinces. The group was formerly with NGO One-2-One Cambodia, which will continue to be a key partner going forward.

The team will work to become leaders in population oral health. They will do this by:
1. attracting collaborators which aligning motivations in order to advance the field of population oral health
2. Developing and demonstrate programs and interventions that improve oral health at a population level
3. Building capacity of the Health System to implement and deliver evidence based oral health services
4. conducting high quality research that helps to better understand oral health in a Cambodian context.
All of this has been made possible by a grant from Ivoclar Vivadent and their corporate responsibility program.

Dr Philipp Schneider came to prepare that grant and check the school based oral health program ‘Healthy Kids’ in November. Funding from Ivoclar will support the salary of 3 staff, at least 7 outreach activities in remote areas, dental materials and equipment. The shift took a lot of effort and coordination and now that they are here UP and the Faculty of Dentistry warmly welcome the CIPA team, and wish it well as it seeks to become a leader in oral health promotion in Cambodia and beyond.

Faculty of Medicine Simulation Team Members Provide BLS Training to PPM Pharma Staff

On 12th January 2023, a team from the Faculty of Medicine consisting of 3 Faculty staff and 8 students who are members of the Simulation Club provided basic life support (BLS) training to 32 staff at the headquarters of Pharma Product Manufacturing (PPM).

Dr. Prom Vireak, Deputy Dean for Clinical Affairs, gave a presentation about cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and choking management in adults and children, and the participants were then divided in groups to practice with manikins. The team had also an opportunity to observe the manufacturing process, under the guidance of PPM staff.

UP PHARMACY STAFF AND STUDENTS WILL JOIN CHPAA MISSION 11 IN BANTEAY MEANCHEY

Cambodian Health Professionals Association of America (CHPAA) conducts annual medical, surgical, and dental missions to Cambodia to provide medical care services and education free of charge to the underserved Cambodian population. They strengthen the community by promoting healthy lifestyles, regular check-up, and education to local Cambodians and other ethnic groups. They offer university students an opportunity to volunteer and serve their community.

UP pharmacy students have joined the CHPAA missions since the first batch. This year, the faculty of pharmacy will also send staff and students to support the CHPAA’s 11th mission in Banteay Meanchey province, from January 28 to February 5, 2023.

UP PARTICIPATES IN CAMBODIAN DENTAL ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE

After 3 years the Cambodian Dental Association resumed their annual meeting again last week at the Sokha Hotel. Attended by over 500 dentists, and with a huge trade display, the 2 day event featured top local and international speakers, including UP lecturers Dr Yos Chantho and Dr Chhe Phearom who spoke on pediatric dentistry. Later UP lecturer Dr Nol Rithy spoke on multidisciplinary approaches for aesthetic restoration, and Assoc Prof Dr Anand Marya spoke on creating a beautiful smile with the Damon System. For the first time ever, UP had its own booth at the conference, which generated a lot of interest and enquiries. We were able to promote our new Polyclinic, all of our courses, and the Special Needs booklet – one of the only Khmer language dental books in Cambodia.

Thanks for Marketing Department and UP volunteer staff and students for their efforts. For the first ime in 3 years there was an election for future office-bearers for the CDA, and our Head of Periodontics and Implantology, Dr Tak Ranuch, was elected President elect for 2025-2026. Congratulations Dr Ranuch on achieving this high honour.

Patient happy with lovely new smile

Final year dental student Ms Hen Sopheakta brought a smile to the face of this patient who had many missing teeth and was unhappy with her smile. The case was supervised by Dr Tort Ravy, with technical help from Mr Jean Le Goff. Our clinic is currently short of patients needing dentures – so if you know someone with missing teeth do ask them to come in for a free consultation.

UP PHARMACY STAFF JOINED THE 3RD ANNUAL EDCAMP IN KAMPOT PROVINCE

On January 8, 2023, a UP pharmacy staff, Ms. Eng Poliny, joined the 3rd Annual EdCamp in Kampot province. EdCamp is an innovative conference that is designed to create a participant-driven, fun-filled day of professional development. The achievement of the event depends largely on the open sharing of ideas and the active involvement of all participants. The rule of the conference is to “vote with your feet.” If you do not like a session, you can leave and attend another one. Facilitators lead discussions in each of the breakout sessions at the conference. Because there are no presenters, you always have a voice in the discussion.

Over the course of the day, Poliny had the opportunity to attend five sessions on topics as follows:
1. Interactive Activities for Teaching Grammar
2. Learner-Centered Approach in ELT Classes
3. The Art of Questioning in ELT classes
4. Using Canvas to Create Interactive Online Learning Platform
5. The Power of the 4Es (Enable, Engage, Elevate, and Extend) for Using Technologies in ELT.

During the conference, Poliny was able to work with other educators, come up with ideas for resolving common educational issues, participate in engaging group discussions, and take away concepts that she can implement in the classroom.

UP: One of the most pet-friendly universities in Cambodia

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At UP, we love animals and encourage our students and colleagues to protect and care for animals. Right now mostly stray cats are happily roaming free, toys scattered around the office, and a jar of food by a co-worker’s desk. Oh how lovely it is to have furry friends nestled by our feet for part of the workday. Students enjoy watching the kittens playing around during their breaks. They surely take away the stress from the class! According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), they note that pets can decrease blood pressure, cholesterol levels, feelings of loneliness, and increase opportunities for socializing and getting some much-needed exercise. Having cats around campus can help students and staff be happier and more active, boosting serotonin levels in the brain.

Besides the emotional support, the furry family also brings students and staff together and starts enthusiastic chats. Staff at UP are hoping to raise funds to support stray animals by providing food and vaccinations through organizing a running event “Running for Animals”! Perhaps you may like to join!

If you would like to help support our stray cats in the meantime, please contact one of our cat support groups, which includes Daniel, Muyngim, Vitou, Callum, Mirjam, and TJ. All contributions to the cat food fund are welcome.

UP pharmacy Lecturer awarded a Japan Master’s scholarship.

Ms. Srey Pich is a full-time lecturer at the University of Puthisastra. In 2022, she successfully completed her pharmacy bachelor’s program. She has been involved in most of the school events, research projects, and foreign volunteer work since she was a student. She is currently a lecturer who never stops improving herself. She participates in research activities and is in charge of several school projects.

She received a Japan international scholarship to study in Japan as part of Kanagawa University’s Health Innovation research program. She successfully completed all three scholarship selection examinations. Only a few number of overseas applicants will be accepted for this scholarship’s master’s program in 2023.The power key to successfully pass this scholarship is based on her prior research experience, academic achievement, leadership, GPA, and volunteer work all served as deciding factors in her ability to get this award. She was also a qualified candidate who could respond well to all of the scholarship-related questions, and she has a compelling research proposal and a well-defined study strategy. Additionally, she has glowing recommendations from both her advisors, her professor, Dr. Chea Sin, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, and Mr. So Vsessaseth, Head of Pharmacognosy at University of Puthisastra.

Her research plan aims to develop human resources who can innovate social systems and technologies in the fields related to healthcare, medical care, and social welfare.

The School of Health Innovation (SHI) seeks to develop students who want to launch businesses and who might work to transform society using a method based on scientific reasoning. To do this, SHI needs to hire people who apply to the following:

• Those who have a strong desire to enhance healthcare in order to create a society where people can live purposefully.
• People who are interested in social problems and want to find scientific solutions to them.
• People who make an effort to offer a solution to problems involving individuals from various backgrounds and organizations, and communities from a variety of points of view.
• People who can challenge prejudices by presenting and putting into practice a daring solution to an issue.

Planning on Ex-Physio and Ex-Pharm training

The Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Puthisastra is planning to hold a short training course on a modern electronic system program called “Ex-Physio and Ex-Pharm”.

The purpose of this training is to share the benefits of the above two electronic systems with all colleagues, especially those in the field of health sciences, to further enhance their implementation. In addition, the Ex-Physio and Ex-Pharm electronic software programs allow all students in the field of health sciences to explore and learn more about theoretical studies.

Professor TJ Moore Keynote Speaker at AmCham Education Meeting

Head of Health Sciences & Biotechnology, Assoc Prof TJ Moore was invited as a keynote speaker to the American Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia’s Education Committee. Prof Moore gave an online presentation on the topic of “Teaching and Learning Cycles – Contextual Awareness” on the 5th Jan 2023, where he highlighted the importance of educators being aware of the context in which they are teaching and the importance of being aware of the perspectives of different stakeholders in the teaching and learning process.

Caffeine extraction from coffee and tea by Year 3 Ph armacy students

Recently, Year 3 Pharmacy students conducted research and experiments on extracting caffeine from coffee and tea. The results of the study showed a pure caffeine level higher than 96%, which showed the toughness and excellent performance of the extract. This practice was done physically in the laboratory of the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Puthisastra.

Moreover, the analysis tools are all modern devices like HPLC. This achievement was presented at the 4th Pharmaceutical Research Conference of the University of Puthisastra and won the “Best Poster Presentation” in the 3rd place. This is the success of the Pharmacy students as well as FoP staffs of the University of Puthisastra.

UP HOSTS FORMER DEAN FROM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

Last Sunday UP hosted former NUS Dean Professor Loh Hong Sai to give a lecture for students from all the dental schools in Cambodia. Prof Loh has been a regular visitor to Cambodia and was a founding member and active supporter of the Asia Pacific Dental Students Association (APDSA). Over 150 students attended to hear Prof Loh speak about the principles and practice of oral surgery. Throughout the lecture Prof Loh emphasized the importance of practicing evidence-based surgery in a safe way, and ensuring that patients have provided informed consent. He not only covered surgical techniques, but also what complications can occur and how to manage these. Prof Loh was welcomed by UP Dean of Dentistry Prof Callum Durward, and the MC was Dr Sam Sovatdy, Head of Oral Surgery at UP. We would like to thank Dr Kor Hok Sim, former President of CDA, for bringing Prof Loh to deliver his lecture to the students.

UP DENTAL STUDENTS ATTEND ROTARACT MEETING IN THAILAND

Recently 4 UP dental students, who are members of Rotaract Club of Phnom Penh Central, traveled to Thailand in order to have discussions with Rotaractors at the Metropolitan Rotaract Club of Bangkok. Both clubs have now officially agreed to form a “Rotaract International Exchange Program” as well to join together to conduct an “International Collaboration Project”. Exchanges are planned in the next few months.

The students would like to thank UP for collaborating with the Rotaract Club of Phnom Penh Central, so that together they can serve our local communities.

UP Dentistry Welcomes Visitors from Korea

Last week UP had a visit from three Korean dentists who had been attending the Cambodian Dental Association conference, and wanted to visit a Cambodian dental school. They were accompanied by Dr Kor Hok Sim, and were taken on a tour of our dental hospital, campus and laboratory. The leader of the group was Dr Hyunjong Kim, who is Director of the Seoul Top Dental Hospital and Chairman of the Dental Public Health Commission of Korea. He is also on the executive of the Asia Pacific Dental Federation. During discussions with A/Prof Sopharith and Prof Callum, the visitors were eager to hear about dentistry in Cambodia, and expressed a wish to collaborate in the future in order to promote oral health and the advancement of dentistry in Cambodia. We look forward to having more contact with our colleagues in the future.

A New Way to Remove Dental Plaque and Treat Gum Disease – LUMORAL

Last week UP dental students had a special lecture by Assoc Prof Tommi Patila from Finland on a revolutionary new product called LUMORAL. LUNMORAL is a photodynamic therapy kit with a combination of a rechargeable light applicator and photoactive mouth rinse. This home care kit has proven to be effective in reducing dental plaque and periodontal inflammation. It is highly recommended for use by patients who have undergone periodontal treatment and patients who suffer from peri-implantitis. The device is also useful for people with healthy gums because it can reduce plaque deposits compared with the brushing by hand or with an electric tooth brush.

Manual brushing typically only removes 50% and 65% of the plaque on the teeth. LUMORAL, which shines a mixture of white light and ultra violet light on the teeth for about 10 minutes per day kills most of the plaque bacteria. Dr Patila showed the students how the product worked, and spoke about the scientific evidence behind the invention, and the many potential uses of the product in the mouth. Thanks to Unident for sending Dr Patila to UP to share this incredible advance in dental science with our students.

15% off at Bookshouse Cambodia for UP Bookworms

Good news! University of Puthisastra has just signed a partnership agreement with Bookshouse Cambodia in order to level up reading habit across UP community.

From now on, staff, students, and alumni of UP will receive a 15% discount on any books that are currently in stock at Bookshouse Cambodia. Just show your UP ID card to Bookshouse Cambodia to receive the deal and purchase your book of choice right away. Bookshouse Cambodia is a physical and online bookstore that has thousands of books, including fiction, nonfiction, adventure stories, health, self-help, crime, and many more categories. You may purchase all varieties of original books from Bookshouse Cambodia online and in person at reasonable prices.Bookshouse Cambodia is located at #85 Eo, St 163, Sangkat Toul Svay Prey 1, Khan Chamkarmorn, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.