Honours for Sabahan professor
Published on: Tuesday, November 07, 2017
Putra Jaya: Tawau-born Professor Dr Debra Sim Si Mui, 59, has done Sabah proud by being one of the award winners in the category of Teaching in Health Sciences for the 10th National Academic Awards (AAN2016) in recognition of academicians' contributions to the nation's educational development.Currently, she is a Professor at the Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine in the University of Malaya (MU).Together with other recipients, she received RM50,000 and a trophy from the Minister of Higher Education Malaysia, Dato' Seri Idris Jusoh, witnessed by the Deputy Minister Datuk Dr Mary Yap Kain Ching, at the 11th National Academic Awards (AAN2017), recently.
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The event was organised by the Ministry of Higher Education at Putrajaya Marriott Hotel, here.AAN is a platform for recognising and honouring national academics who have brought honour to the name of Malaysia in various fields of knowledge. In fact, this award is the highest recognition for Malaysian scholars who are serving or have served in Malaysian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) based on their contribution in the following areas: Teaching, Discovery of Science, Creative Writing and Publishing, and Transfer and Development of Knowledge.AAN Teaching Awards, in particular, aim to give recognition and acclaim to teachers of HEIs who have demonstrated scholarship and excellence in teaching.Prof Dr Sim's contribution towards teaching and learning has won her a string of accolades from both the medical/dental students (Best Lecturer Awards in para-clinical category, 1986, 1989, 1991 and 1994) and the university (Excellent Service Awards, 2000, 2002, 2009, and Excellent Service Certificates, 2004, 2005, 2006).
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In 2015, she was awarded the University of Malaya Excellence Award in the Teaching Category.Trained as a basic scientist, her motto at work is : "The sky is the limit for my learning. Professionalism is the goal of my service; Integrity is the guiding principle in my research. The rest I leave it in the hands of the Almighty, All-Knowing and All-Loving God."
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Prof Dr Sim shared : "Knowing the answer to a question or the solution to a problem is not the ultimate goal in studying. My goal in studying is to explore the many different paths to arrive at the answer or solution, which means understanding the processes of problem resolution and then to decide on which is the best."The turning-point came in 1974 when she emerged as one of the top two scorers for the GCE 'O' Level examination in Sabah. She graduated with a BSc Honours degree in Science from the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom (UK), in 1980. While pursuing postgraduate study in Pharmacology at the Faculty of Medicine of the same university (1980-1983), she received the Overseas Research Students (ORS) Award from the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals of the UK.Prof Dr Sim obtained her PhD in Pharmacology before serving as a lecturer at MU in 1984. Presently, she serves as the Faculty of Medicine PBL (Problem-Based Learning) Coordinator at the Medical Education and Research Development Unit (MERDU), MU. As Coordinator, she played an important role in introducing PBL in the university's MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery) programme in 1999/2000. She also promoted the use of 'post-problem-observe-question-feedback' approach and 'colour-coding' method. Since then, she has been actively involved in providing training on PBL to students and tutors locally and internationally as well as curriculum reviews for Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), and Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) programmes. The 2007-Fellow of the FAIMER Institute, based in Philadelphia, USA, who developed the FAIMER Project herself, has extended it to Pharmacy students as part of their inter-professional learning process. (FAIMER stands for Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research).Her research focuses are on the aspects of Pharmacokinetics, Snake Venom Pharmacology and Anti-venom, PBL, Prescribing Skills Training, Student Evaluation, Inter-professional Education and Action Research.Asked on how she plans to use the prize money, the multiple award winner said : "I haven't thought much about it but I am likely to invest it on education for underprivileged students." Prof Dr Sim, who will be retiring from her academic career next year, hopes to spend more time in Sabah "towards raising the quality of school and college/university education of my home state".The elated professor told Dr Jusoh and others that Dr Yap was her former English teacher at St Patrick's, then a fresh graduate from MU.Said Dr Yap who taught Form Two and Form Four students in the early seventies : "I am indeed proud to see my ex-student excelling in the field of education as a professor, and being recognised for her researches and pedagogical excellence."UM is the foremost and premier Research University (RU) in Malaysia with 17 faculty research centres. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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