Kuala Lampur, Oct. 5 -- I recently returned to Penang to deliver a keynote address at the International Symposium of Medical Engineering Research (ISoMER), organised by Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP).

Like many academic conferences, I expected stimulating discussions, new research ideas and the opportunity to meet colleagues from different institutions.

What I did not expect was one of the most meaningful reunions of my academic life.

Waiting to greet me were seven former students from Universiti Malaya's pioneering Biomedical Engineering undergraduate programme.

Today, they are all serving at UniMAP in various academic capacities. They approached me warmly with smiles, handshakes and stories that immediately brought back memorie...