ABOUT SEAADE
South East Asia Association for Dental Education (SEAADE)

The Mission
“To promote the advancement of dental education and research in all institutions, through cooperative efforts of dental educators in the South East Asia region”

The Objectives

1. To promote the advancement of dental education and research in all institutions.
2. To encourage and facilitate cooperative effort and achievement by, and mutual helpfulness among, dental educators in this region.
3. To stimulate the production, exchange and dissemination of ideas and information among dental educators, educators of other health care professions and educators in the community of higher education.
4. To study and investigate the educational aspects concerned with providing and maintaining optimal oral health care for the public.
5. To communicate with the public, other health professions and the community of higher education to improve their understanding of the importance of oral health care in relation to the general health and well being of individuals and society.
6. To establish and maintain liaison with governmental and other appropriate agencies that may further the development, support and improvement of dental education research and service.
7. To advise and provide consultants and consultation services regarding dental education programs.

History of SEAADE

The idea of forming an association of dental educators in the South East Asian Region arose from the need to improve communication between the various dental institutions. During the IADR (South East Asian Division) meetings in the late eighties this idea was discussed and accepted. The delegates who attended these meetings then, proposed that an association be set up to further develop the close relationship of the member countries in the education field. This will provide a more formal platform in which problems of dental education and research could be discussed.

The South East Asia Association for Dental Education (SEAADE) was formed in 1990 at the Singapore meeting of the 78th FDI World Dental Congress. The early proponents of this organization included many leading educators in the region and they formed the Founding Council of SEAADE in Singapore.

The Constitution was then drafted by Toh Chooi Gait and accepted at an annual general meeting the following year and with it the preparation of the First Edition of the Directory of Dental Schools and Research that was led by Keng Siong Beng and Teo Choo Soo.  They continue to update the directory until the 4^th edition that was published in 1999.

The Blue SEAADE logo with the ring surrounding the letters was designed by Keng Siong Beng and used to represent the close circular bond among the association of dental schools.

The formation of the South East Asia Association for Dental Education (SEAADE) created a milestone for dental education and research in this part of the world.  Since its inception in 1990, the association has grown from strength to strength with more and more member institutions joining each year and annual scientific meetings held in various countries in the region.

In year 2001 President Toh Chooi Gait (Malaysia) together with FC Smales (Hong Kong) and Krassanai Wangrangsimakul (Thailand) formed a steering committee to develop a school visit program with a self-reporting analytical tool to introduce the SEAADE Peer Review and Consultation Program.   The first SEAADE Peer Review and Visitation was led by then Chair of the Peer Review and Consultation Program, Professor Toh Chooi Gait to Centro Escolar University, Philippines in July 2005. Professor FC Smales served as the rapporteur and other panel members included Professor Margaret Comfort and Associate Professor Keng Siong Beng.  Subsequent visits were conducted in University of Indonesia (November 2005), Universiti Sains Malaysia (August 2006), Mahidol University (August 2007),  Sultan Agung Islamic University (October 2012), International Medical University (December 2014), Our Lady of Fatima University College of Dentistry (Jan 2015), University of the East College of Dentistry (June 2015), University of Medicine and Pharmacy at HoChiMinh City (July 2017), Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy (July 2017) and Hanoi Medical University (July 2017).

Year 2006 was also significant as the first SEAADE – GC sponsored student competition in Preventive Dentistry was inaugurated with the meeting in Jakarta. The keenness of the competition was reflected in the many participants from the dental schools. The standard of presentation was high and Dental Schools soon earmarked this as a highlight of student research activity. The GC Asia Dental continued to support this very worthwhile annual event until year 2016.  This event was initiated by President Rahimah Abdul Kadir during her term of office and continued under her purview until 2016.

During the term of President Leung Wai Keung in 2011 and 2012 a leadership training program known as The Dental Leadership Experience Program DLEP was instituted between SEAADE and Colgate. The program for Deans and Heads of institution was held at the 22nd Annual Meeting in Singapore in 2011 and a similar programme was conducted at the 23^rd Annual Meeting in the Hong Kong in 2012.

The SEAADE is affiliated to IFDEA (International Federation of Dental Educators Association).

The SEAADE annual meetings are usually held back to back with meetings of the IADR (SEA Division) as both associations attract similar participants i.e. the dental educators who are also active in research. During the years when the IADR (SEA Division) would join the hosting of IADR (General Session) or IADR (APR) meeting in the region, SEAADE would hold its annual scientific meetings.  Since its beginning in Singapore, annual meetings have been held in Hong Kong (1991), Taipei (1992), (Kuala Lumpur (1993), Manila (1994), Pataya (1995), Jakarta (1996), Phuket (1997), Jakarta (1998), Singapore (1999), Taipei (2000), Kuala Lumpur (2001), Hong Kong (2002), Ho Chi Minh City (2003), Koh Samui (2004), Malacca (2005), Jakarta (2006), Bali (2007), Manila (2008), Chiang Mai (2009), Taipei (2010), Singapore (2011), Hong Kong (2012), Bangkok (2013), Kuching (2014), Bali (2015), Ho Chi Minh City (2016), Taipei (2017), Danang (2018), Kuala Lumpur (2019).

The Deans Meeting and Forum is held during the annual scientific meeting and has taken on new impetus with regular topics of discussion being held at the Annual meetings. Several educational workshops have also been held. Two workshops facilitated by Toh Chooi Gait, Krassanai Wangrangsimakul and Callum Durward on developing a SEAADE competency document were held in Kuching (2014) and Bali (2015) respectively.  The outcome at the end of the second workshop in Bali (2015) that was attended by representatives from 65 member dental institutions was the SEAADE “COMPETENCIES OF THE NEW GENERAL DENTAL PRACTITIONER” document to serve as the foundation to:

• Define the major and supporting competencies necessary for entry into the dental profession as independent general dental practitioners;
• Promote common standards of dental education in South East Asia and other Asian countries that this organisation serves;
• Promote adoption of best practices in dental education with aim of producing competent general dental practitioners who are capable of providing safe and quality patient care;
• Serve as a central resource to promote harmonisation of dental curriculum of dental institutions in the region, thus contributing to standardisation of dental practice standards in the region;
• Facilitate acceptance and mobility of dental practitioners in the region.

In celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the founding of SEAADE, the annual meeting that is held in Kuala Lumpur adopts the theme “Reimagining Dental Education” with several pre-conference workshops organised to facilitate and promote academic quality administration, novel teaching-learning methods and educational research. SEAADE introduces the SEAADE Innovation Awards to encourage innovations in dental education that enhance educational outcomes and/or student experience. The areas of awards include Curriculum Design, Teaching and Learning Method, Assessment, Interprofessional Learning, Community Based Education, Simulation, Student Competencies, Education Technology, and Faculty Development. There are also awards for student competitions for oral health promotion videos, reimagining dental education pecha kucha challenge and research report posters. A student debate has also been introduced between Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and University of Indonesia.