Australia-Malaysia Institute
Vocational Education and Training
Inaugural Malaysian Pre Hospital and Transport Medicine Course conducted by Careflight NSW
CareFlight NSW conducted a 3 day intensive interactive course on 'Prehospital and Transport Medicine' in Kuala Lumpur. The course was attended by 35 senior Malaysian clinicians including specialist physicians, senior nurses and paramedics represented from each Malaysian state.
Almost 7000 people lose their lives each year on Malaysian roads. Senior Malaysian physicians at the Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Emergency Department and Sungai Buluh Hospital were actively involved in co-ordinating the training program with Careflight and customising the course to meet the specific needs for Malaysia. The course was interactive allowing for small groups to undertake practical sessions and share experiences.
As a direct result of this course a group of senior doctors have established a National Society for Aeromedicine Malaysia with the aim to establish a helicopter medical service.
Careflight NSW and Malaysian colleagues at UKM will continue to work closely together to develop aeromedical services in Malaysia.
Human resource training in the Automotive Industry
The AMI provided funding for the Kangan Institute to partner with the Malaysian Automotive Institute (MAI) to run a Vocational Education and Training (VET) program designed to produce apprenticeships in key auto industry areas.
The Kangan Institute is a vocational training institute based in Melbourne with an Automotive Centre of Excellence that delivers a broad range of automotive training qualifications and research activities. The Kangan Institute developed a 'train the trainer' program for 20 Malaysian trainers from various Malaysian academic and vocational training institutes.
The Malaysian Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Mukhriz Tun Mahathir, said at the launch of the program that the pilot program would improve skilled labour in the automotive sector and was very important to ensure that both countries compete internationally.
St Nicholas Home for the Blind 'Orientation and Mobility' training program
A series of 'Blindness Specific Skills Upgrading Workshops' were held in collaboration with the School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, the National Council for the Blind Malaysia, St Nicholas Home, Penang with funding support from the AMI and Lee Foundation.
The workshops were held from 30 November – 14 December 2010 and focused on Orientation and Mobility (O&M), a blindness-specific skill set important for access and inclusivity in society and key to independence for people with vision loss.
The workshops were designed to improve the technical expertise and knowledge of O&M instructors working with Blind and Visually Impaired people in Malaysia and develop qualified trainers in O&M for sustainable services in Malaysia.
Royal Life Saving Society Australia, World Conference on Drowning Prevention 2011, Australia Malaysia Institute Scholarship Program
The AMI funded seven scholarship delegates from Life Saving Society Malaysia (LSSM) to attend the World Conference on Drowning Prevention, 2011 held in Danang, Vietnam. The scholarship program was aimed at increasing awareness of drowning among policy makers and building capacity for a Malaysian drowning prevention strategy. The delegation was exposed to new research methodologies and new projects in drowning prevention that are working to reduce drowning globally and specifically within the Asia Pacific region. As a result of the conference scholarships the delegation returned with a renewed focus on reducing drowning, particularly in the 'kampongs' rural areas in Malaysia.
