The 4th International Symposium of Healthcare Education at Okayama was held on December 14, 2019, in the first lecture room of the Faculty of Dentistry.

This symposium was held with the aim of establishing international relations with dental universities in the field of education and research. We invited deans of the dental school or directors of the hospitals from two universities each in Indonesia and in Vietnam and one university in the Netherlands, the United States, and in China to share information on the unique educational and research systems at their universities. A total of 200 or more faculty members and students participated in the symposium. Lectures - by invited speakers (2 sessions), ODAPUS*1 students, O-NECUS*2 students, graduate students, and young overseas researchers - and poster sessions were held.

10 researchers and 7 students gave presentations about their researches, or introduced on their universities. Finally, a Q&A session was held on the 24 posters on the floor. There were lively discussions in all sessions. Excellent poster awards were presented to Eman A. Taha (dental pharmacology), Ha Thi Thu Nguyen (implant regeneration prosthetics), Islam Md Monirui (preventive dentistry), and Assistant Prof. Kawai Hotaka (oral pathology).

In this symposium, not only faculty members but also undergraduate and graduate students who involved in various study abroad programs joined actively. In order to build a new international dental university cooperation, the symposium was a great opportunity for the next generation of dental students and young researchers to gain the essential knowledge and experience for future international academic exchange.

*1 ODAPUS: Okayama University Dental School Short-term-Study- Abroad Program for Undergraduate Students
*2 O-NECUS: Okayama University-North East China Universities platform, ‘Graduate’ Student Exchange Program

〇The symposium was supported by, Astellas pharma Educational support and Alpha-bio Co., Ltd.

〇Presenters and the contents:
・Associate Prof. Muhammad Ruslin of Hasanuddin University: the current status and future of dental care in Indonesia
・Associate Prof. Tong Minh Son of Hanoi Medical University: oral health status of the elderly in Vietnam
・Prof. Vu Quang Hung of the Hai Phong Medical and Pharmaceutical University: an introduction of Haiphong University of Medicine and Pharmacy
・Associate Prof. Tianna Wahyu Utami of Gadjah Mada University: the efficacy of oil in leaves of Scorodocarpus borneensis
・Prof. Hongchen Sun of the China Medical University: the role of Acvr1 in dentin formation
・Prof. Albert Feilzer of the Academic Center for Dentistry Amsterdam: the side effects of dental materials
・Prof. Igor Spigelman of University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) : new non-psychotic cannabinoids for the treatment of chronic pain
・KOMIYAMA Yuji and NATSUME Kazumi - 5th and 3rd year students at Okayama University Dental School - and Dr. Nur Mohammad Hassan of Charles Sturt University: lectures related to the ODPUS program
・2019 O-NECUS students Mr. Yuhan He (China Medical University) and Mr. Qianqian Lu (Jilin University): an introduction of their universities in China
・Graduate students of Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmaceutical Sciences - Akhter Mst Nahid (biomaterials), May Wathone Oo (oral pathology), and Ei Ei Hsu Hlaing (orthodontics) : presentations on their research
・Associate Prof. Heni Susilowati of Gadjah Mada University and Dr. Pham Thanh Hai of Hai Phong Medical and Pharmaceutical University: lectures on their research