The Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy (DKICP) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo is the newest member of a multinational group working to advance pharmacy education, research and practice, and improve the health and welfare of the people in Thailand.
The U.S.-Thai Consortium for the Development of Pharmacy Education in Thailand, founded in May 1994, made the announcement at the 2014 consortium conference from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy in Baltimore. DKICP Associate Professor Carolyn Ma and Supakit Wongwiwatthananukit attended.
Thai-U.S. partnership
The consortium now includes 19 Thai and 17 U.S. schools of pharmacy. The American Association of Colleges and Pharmacy signed the original memorandum of agreement with eight schools of pharmacy in Thailand and the Committee for Pharmacy Manpower Development of the Thailand Ministry of University Affairs.
“We are energized by, and grateful for, the opportunity to join these other top schools of pharmacy because we understand how to affect global health and make a difference for humanity.” said DKICP Dean John M. Pezzuto. “Our geographic location positions us to become the hub of pharmaceutical research where contributions of western sciences, eastern traditions and Pacific island heritage combine to advance pharmaceutical knowledge and practice.”
These agreements give DKICP students an opportunity to go to Thailand for their experiential training, as well as bring PhD students and postdoctoral associates to Hawaiʻi to work in DKICP labs.
Thailand agreement adds to international opportunities
DKICP has developed relationships and signed memorandums of understanding with universities in China, Thailand and Japan. Students in the UH Hilo program also have unique learning opportunities available throughout Hawaiʻi, across the mainland and the Pacific Basin, in Guam, American Samoa and Saipan.
“This consortium will help us expand our scope to include other universities in Thailand, which in turn gives our respective students a wider global perspective,” said Wongwiwatthananukit, DKICP associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice, who helped shape the existing agreements. “Being born and raised in Thailand, this is very meaningful because I know our work can affect generations to come.”
Read the UH Hilo news release for more information.
—By Alyson Kakugawa-Leong
