In light of the COVID-19 situation, this year’s Open House was shifted onto an online arena. Prior to the actual e-Open House day, a series of videos and posters were published on our social media platforms – Facebook, Instagram and Twitter – to share about the roles of pharmacists in the new healthcare landscape and the launch of our new Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours) programme in August 2020. We are pleased to share that we have reached a total of 9845 and 2716 people on Facebook and Instagram respectively.
In one of the videos, A/Prof Chui Wai Keung hosted a forum “Trilogies from the Pharmacy” with A/Prof Priscilla How, Mr How Ti Hwei (Class of ’95, Country President of AstraZeneca Singapore) and Mr Yeo Shao Jie (Class of ‘21). They shared about their personal experiences and perspectives of being a Pharmacy student and graduate, and the career progression with a Pharmacy degree.
On the actual day, our professors and lecturers conducted 9 live chat sessions throughout the day on an online platform, where they addressed the concerns and queries from prospective students and their parents about the Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science courses offered by the Department. A dedicated hotline was also available for students to call in to enquire about our courses. Despite these being a new experience, we are heartened that many prospective students have taken it positively and participated actively. All in all, we are glad to share that we had an average of 20 participants per live session.
A/Prof Chew and Dr Ong both shared that these live chat sessions allowed all participants to collectively benefit from hearing the responses to each other’s questions about our undergraduate courses.
From left to right: A/Prof Matthias Wacker, Dr Chng Hui Ting and A/Prof Ho Han Kiat co-hosting on-site while Professor Paul Gallagher (not in picture) co-hosting remotely during one of the live chat sessions at the e-Open House.
From left to right: Dr Ong Pei Shi and A/Prof Chew Eng Hui co-hosting one of the live chat sessions at the e-Open House.
Subsequently, on 18 April 2020, we held our first e-Engagement Day where we reached out to our prospective students (and parents) who have received offers into our Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science programmes. Both sessions not only provided more information on the curriculum, but also the opportunity to connect with industrial and/or alumni speakers who shared their experiences about career-related choices. We look forward to welcoming and interacting more with our prospective students in the next academic year!
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Article by Ms Ng Chu Ning (NUS Pharmacy staff)