Seeking International Asian Medicine Colleges and Universities for establishment of
“Satellite” Sister School partnerships worldwide.
An important part of the mission of Acupuncture Ambassadors is to establish schools
of Acupuncture and Asian medicine worldwide. There are so many places in the world
that lack sufficient access to healthcare. Places like Nepal, India, Cambodia, South and
Central America and Africa. And most western style medical systems are too expensive
and unsustainable in these areas. These places would benefit greatly by training qualified
individuals interested in this medicine as a vocation and the people in need having
access to Acupuncture and Asian medicine practitioners in their own country and local
community. Even though there are more than 30 Humanitarian Acupuncture and Asian
Medicine groups currently serving the needy of the world, unfortunately there are only
rare occasions where these groups can travel to these places in need to treat patients and
to train medical professionals in the basics of the medicine.
Acupuncture Ambassadors (ACUAMB) is seeking to create partnerships with
International Asian Medicine Colleges and Universities in order to create “Satellite”
Sister School branches of their institutions and training centers of Asian Medicine in
these places in the world. These “satellite” schools can be established in already existing
educational institutions in that country or even “free standing” training centers in rural
areas.
In a poor country like Nepal for instance, where healthcare is a very limited commodity,
a school of Asian medicine would bring many already educated people an opportunity
to become practitioners and serve their communities. These students could someday
become teachers and pass their knowledge on to a new generation of Asian Medicine
practitioners.
Of interest to the College and University partners, in recent years western institutes
of higher learning are establishing themselves in other countries by creating branches
of their universities. “Where universities are heading now is toward becoming global
universities,” said Howard Rollins, the former director of international programs at
Georgia Tech University in the U.S.A., which has degree programs in France, Singapore,
Italy, South Africa and China, and plans for India. “We’ll have more and more
universities competing internationally for resources, faculty and the best students.”
New York University has an international presence, increasing study-abroad sites,
opening programs in Singapore, and exploring new partnerships in France. And now
plans for a comprehensive liberal arts branch campus in the Persian Gulf. At Education
City in Doha, Qatar’s capital, students can study medicine at Weill Medical College of
Cornell University, international affairs at Georgetown, computer science and business at
Carnegie Mellon, fine arts at Virginia Commonwealth, engineering at Texas A&M, and
soon, journalism at Northwestern.
Taking this trend in mind, Acupuncture Ambassadors is actively seeking an accredited,
international Acupuncture / Asian medicine college or university to create a sister school
affiliation / partnership for future sites of ACUAMB school projects. This sister school
relationship has potentially enormous benefits for both institutions, the host country’s
public health system and the patients they treat.
Of course the Satellite Sister School will benefit from the professional status and
potential access to resources (educational and financial) of a well-established
Acupuncture college and their programs. They would benefit from expertise in bringing
a well tested, first class quality of an Asian Medicine education, international expert
teachers of the medicine, expert administrators and potential access to scholarship
sponsors for low income students who wish to study but can not due to financial
restrictions. It also opens the door for international Asian students from neighboring
countries of where our schools are established who wish to have an education in a school
with an international reputation without the necessity of traveling to a country like the
U.S. or China for instance.
Our partner college would also receive great benefit. By taking its first steps into the
realm of international university operations they would be able to have a global spotlight
on their institution like none before.
For the partner college there can be student “semester abroad” programs conducted.
From my own personal experience treating in Nepal, I have seen so many cases that I
would never treat the U.S. Along with of course the cultural exchange benefit there is the
potential revenue having their Western or Eastern students spend a semester overseas.
In an under-developed country where the need for the medicine of acupuncture may
be the greatest, there is also an enormous social benefit to this kind of collaboration.
We are witnessing yet another emerging trend in our medicine, the emergence of
Humanitarian Acupuncture. In recent years many groups from around the world travel to
places like Guatemala, Peru, Senegal , Uganda and South Africa, Bali, India and Nepal
each year to conduct free acupuncture camps and clinics. Groups like World Medicine,
Acupuncturists W/O Borders, Mindful Medicine, Nepal Acupuncture Project, Global
Alternative Healthcare Project and Acupuncture Ambassadors are having a continuing
presence in Nepal. Western-based practitioners / teachers and students could now witness
and assist in humanitarian relief efforts throughout the world. Our partner university
can become a focal institution in coordinating humanitarian efforts not only with
Acupuncture / Asian Medicine groups but help introduce and integrate acupuncture into
the many prestigious western medicine NGOs, charitable organizations and institutions
(i.e. U.N., USAIDS, Doctors Without Borders etc.) that run numerous and ongoing
medical / surgical operation missions, clinics, hospitals and medical camps.
Joining with Acupuncture Ambassadors, our partner institutions can potentially co-
sponsor annual international symposiums on Acupuncture and Humanitarian Aid thus
creating a solid humanitarian profile for the school.
The role of Acupuncture Ambassadors (ACUAMB) is to act as a liaison between
both schools and oversee this sisterhood maintaining the quality and reputation of our
partner. A collaboration in an educational / medical institution in a developing and under
developed countries can become a model for many other partnerships or even stand alone
international campuses in other parts of the world wherever Acupuncture Ambassadors
has created alliances.
I encourage acupuncture and Asian medical schools around the world to consider
becoming a sister school. Please forward this information on to as many International
School Deans, Directors, teaching and clinical staff and alumni that you know to see if
together we can help make Satellite Sister Schools a reality.
