LKCMedicine Welcomes Students from Junior Colleges and Polytechnics in First Outreach Event for 2025

LKCMedicine hosted an eager group of junior college and polytechnic students at its Novena campus today (25 January) in its first student outreach activity for 2025. The event featured a talk on the NTU MBBS programme and admissions process for academic year 2025/26, followed by an informal lunch session to help attendees learn more about the School. The attendees were part of NTU Singapore’s Early Admissions & Scholarships Exercise (EASE) 2025.

NTU’s admissions process runs from October to June and includes EASE applicants. Today’s engagement session aims to highlight the School’s innovative medical teaching approach and the strong sense of community among its faculty, staff, students and alumni.

With the NTU-Imperial College joint MBBS degree programme set to conclude in 2028, LKCMedicine welcomed its first cohort last year that will graduate with an NTU MBBS degree in 2029. It was also LKCMedicine’s largest intake since 2013, at 186 students. This year, the School seeks to attract more applicants to its enhanced MBBS programme, which now includes a stronger focus on artificial intelligence (AI), digital health, and medical humanities.

The event, held in the Flexi-Space of LKCMedicine’s Medical Library at its Novena campus, began with a welcome address by Vice-Dean for Education, Associate Professor Faith Chia, who provided an overview of the enhanced curriculum.

Associate Professor See Jee Jian, Assistant Dean for Admissions and Overseas Electives, then explained the admissions process, which requires applicants to submit their University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) results alongside their primary qualifications.

To give attendees an insight into student life, Year 2 student Nashruddin Norrudin and LKCMedicine alumna Dr Sarah Neo (Class of 2023) shared their personal experiences, touching on various topics including LKCMedicine’s team-based learning approach, overseas exposure and community work. Dr Neo, who is currently a Year 1 SingHealth Resident in Diagnostic Radiology also offered a glimpse into what graduates can expect after completing the programme.

During the lively Q&A session, attendees posed questions about the necessity of job shadowing to strengthen one’s application, the support provided to manage the academic challenges of medical school, how student life is like at LKCMedicine, and why Medicine as a career choice. Providing the answers were our students Deborah Lee, Joy Loke, Nashruddin, Dr Neo as well as A/P Chia and A/P See.

The prospective students’ eagerness to learn more about LKCMedicine was clearly visible during lunch, which took place in the Café area of the library. While savouring a delectable meal and taking in the stunning views from the top-floor library, they had the chance to engage directly with our student ambassadors, alumni and faculty members.

One of the standout impressions was how the School fosters a collaborative culture and supportive environment, creating a foundation to help students manage the pressures of studying medicine.

“Today’s session did not only cover the academic aspect of studying at LKCMedicine, but also very much on student life, which was what I was looking out for as I wanted to better understand if I could manage pursuing medicine and my interest in sports as a CCA,” shared Nithink Raghuraman, a 19-year-old from Victoria Junior College.

“It was inspiring to learn about an alumna’s journey and how the MBBS programme helped her grow both professionally and personally. Her insights into the challenges and opportunities she faced gave me a real sense of what to expect. It made me feel more confident in my decision to apply and excited about the possibilities ahead,” enthused Phoebe He, 18, from Nanyang Junior College. Earlier, A/P Chia shared that LKCMedicine has a remarkably high residency placement rate. For the classes of 2018 -2020, the success rate for residency placements stands at 84%.

At LKCMedicine, Team-Based Learning (TBL) offers a supportive environment that helps alleviate the mental burden often associated with pursuing medicine. “Medicine is a difficult course to be in. Through LKCMedicine’s pedagogy which promotes learning in teams, it lightens the mental burden that students may experience. Learning in teams means we are able to get help easily for concepts we find hard to grasp or for revision before examinations. I hope the presentations today are able to convince the junior college and polytechnic students to apply to LKCMedicine,” said Nashruddin.

 

Award-Winning Curriculum

The EASE engagement session is the first of many outreach activities planned this year, during which we are proud to showcase the bespoke MBBS programme, which in 2021 earned the prestigious ASPIRE Award for excellence in curriculum development. LKCMedicine is the first medical school in Singapore and the fourth in Asia to achieve this distinction. The ASPIRE Award, established by a consortium of prominent international experts in medical education and organisations, is spearheaded by the UK-based Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE). It is the only global honour specifically dedicated to recognising outstanding achievements in medical education.

LKCMedicine’s unique curriculum was further enhanced in 2024 to better respond to the rapidly evolving healthcare landscape. Vice-Dean for Education, A/P Chia said, “Over a hundred faculty, students and alumni contributed to our curricular reform which aims to equip our graduates with the knowledge and skills to practice in our healthcare environment that is undergoing rapid change and advancement. However, our curriculum reform is not just about staying current. We want to nurture doctors who are not only skilled in the latest science and technology, but also resilient, adaptable and firmly rooted in the foundations of medicine; empathetic communication, expert clinical skills and compassion for their patients.”

For more detailed information on the NTU MBBS programme, click here or contact the admissions office.