10 April 2026
Raisha Andini
Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU) continues to strengthen its international network in the health sector through a strategic collaboration with the SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute. This commitment was reaffirmed during an official meeting held on Monday (April 7, 2026) in the Rector’s Meeting Room, 3rd Floor, USU Rectorate Building.
The meeting was attended by the Vice Rector III for Research, Innovation, and Collaboration of USU, Prof. Dr. Eng. Himsar Ambarita, S.T., M.T., along with the President Director of USU Teaching Hospital, dr. Inke Nadia D. Lubis, and the SingHealth delegation led by its Director, Prof. London Lucien Ooi.
During the meeting, both parties discussed strengthening their ongoing collaboration, which has been established since 2022 through the formation of the Regional Collaborating Centre (RCC). This partnership focuses on the development of health research, capacity building of human resources, and the enhancement of medical education quality, particularly in the fields of dementia, cardiology, and cancer.
As the largest public healthcare provider in Singapore, SingHealth also presented its integrated healthcare ecosystem, ranging from general hospitals to national specialty centers. Its patient-centered approach, embodied in the philosophy “Patients. At the Heart of All We Do,” serves as the foundation for every collaboration.
On this occasion, SingHealth emphasized its commitment to strengthening the impact of collaboration through broader and more targeted scientific publications, particularly among healthcare professionals.
“Through strong and focused publication collaboration, we hope that the knowledge generated will not only remain within the academic sphere but can also be implemented in clinical practice to deliver tangible and widespread benefits to society,” said Prof. London Lucien Ooi.
In addition, both institutions explored the implementation of joint supervision for students and researchers as part of efforts to enhance the quality of academic mentorship through international collaboration. This scheme is expected to facilitate knowledge transfer, improve the quality of scientific publications, and expand the global exposure of USU’s academic community.
During the session, Prof. Himsar Ambarita emphasized the importance of systematic strategies in securing global research funding, from identifying grant opportunities to preparing proposals that meet international funding standards. “International collaboration must produce tangible outputs such as joint research, reputable publications, and international grants. Through this workshop, we encourage USU lecturers to be better prepared to compete at the global level,” he stated.
Through this collaboration, USU reaffirms its commitment to increasing research productivity and expanding contributions to health sciences that have a direct impact on society, while also supporting the university’s global reputation.
On the same day, USU and SingHealth also organized a grant writing workshop titled “Unlocking Global Research Funding,” attended by lecturers and researchers. The activity aimed to enhance participants’ ability to develop competitive international grant proposals.
