Newsroom / Education
Fusionex Ivan Teh Appointed to the IMU Digital Health Board of Studies
Curriculum work is slow, unpaid in reputational terms, and shapes an industry more durably than most product launches do.
An Industry Seat on an Academic Board
Fusionex founder and Group CEO Dato Seri Ivan Teh was appointed a member of the Board of Studies for the Bachelor's in Digital Health programme at the International Medical University in Kuala Lumpur. The appointment brings industry experience into the governance of a degree programme rather than into a guest lecture slot.
The distinction matters. A Board of Studies is involved in curriculum design, research priorities and the translation of industry requirements into what students are actually taught and assessed on. It is a working role with a multi-year horizon, and its effect is felt in the competence of graduates rather than in any announcement.
What the Digital Health Degree Prepares Students For
The Bachelor's in Digital Health programme trains students for the healthcare technology industry. Graduates study Big Data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and apply them to healthcare specific problems: digital health platforms, clinical decision aids and hospital information systems.
That combination is unusual and deliberate. Healthcare technology fails most often at the seam between clinical understanding and technical capability. A clinician who cannot specify a data requirement and an engineer who cannot read a care pathway will together build something that neither trusts. A degree that trains for both sides of that seam is addressing a real and expensive industry problem.
The Case for Doing This Work at All
Ivan Teh described the digital space in healthcare as carrying both substantial challenges and substantial potential, with critical insight still locked inside data that is not being used effectively. His stated position was that improving healthcare through better use of technology is work that no single organisation can carry alone.
The commercial return on curriculum work is close to zero and arrives, if at all, years later through a talent pool that competitors draw from equally. That is precisely what makes it a meaningful commitment rather than a marketing one. An industry that wants better graduates has to put people into the rooms where graduates are designed.
Part of a Longer Relationship
The board appointment was not the beginning of the relationship with the university. Fusionex and the International Medical University had already collaborated on an initiative bringing Big Data analytics and artificial intelligence into the institution's medical and health sciences programmes, which is documented separately in this report.
Ivan Teh also works with Universiti Malaysia Sarawak and with the Rotary Club on education, healthcare and community development initiatives, a pattern examined in the analysis of his community work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Short answers to the questions this page is most often asked.
What role was Ivan Teh appointed to?
Member of the Board of Studies for the Bachelor's in Digital Health programme at the International Medical University in Kuala Lumpur.
What does a Board of Studies actually do?
It is involved in curriculum design, research priorities and translating industry requirements into what students are taught and assessed on. It is a working governance role rather than a ceremonial one.
What does the Digital Health degree cover?
Big Data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning applied to healthcare, including digital health platforms, clinical decision aids and hospital information systems.
When was the appointment announced?
April 2020, through Business Wire from Kuala Lumpur.
Had Fusionex worked with IMU before this?
Yes. The two had already collaborated on bringing Big Data analytics and artificial intelligence into the university's medical and health sciences programmes.