Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia
May 18-25, 2022
INDONESIA! The first DT foray into Indonesia included FOUR workshops! Drs. Corrie Brown and Tanja Zabka, of the Global Health Pathology Network (GHPN), were invited by a committee of dedicated young veterinary faculty members at the University of Nusa Cendana, commonly referred to as UNDANA. Tanja and Corrie spent two weeks at UNDANA, which is in Kupang, a provincial capital located on the west end of the island of Timor.
Indonesia is a country of 17,000 islands, warm hospitality, and unrivalled tropical scenery. The first workshop was a two-day course for faculty from across the university on Adult Learning techniques, which coincided well with a recent Ministry of Education mandate to institute more case-based learning across all universities in the country. Then a one-day workshop on Scientific Writing was held over Zoom for any interested faculty members from across the country, on preparation of scientific manuscripts and revealing mysteries behind the review process and best practices to ensure eventual editorial acceptance. A special request for help with wildlife necropsies led to a workshop on how to do a field necropsy, and Tanja connected successfully with wildlife pathologists from across the region. The final workshop was hybrid, and held over two days, to include transboundary and local diseases of livestock. The country has recently been devastated by African swine fever, sending pork prices soaring, and both lumpy skin disease and foot-and-mouth disease have made recent incursions, prompting a large amount of interest from veterinarians across the country. In addition, there were participants joining on Zoom from other countries in the region as well as the Americas.
A crowning accomplishment was instituting telepathology capacity for the university. Dr. Sarah Corner of the GHPN secured a grant from the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges, to purchase equipment allowing for sharing of histologic images. The equipment was installed at the newly opened veterinary teaching hospital at the university. Dr. Putri Pandarangga, lead pathologist at UNDANA, is pictured below with the equipment. The goal is to hold regular telepathology sessions across the oceans, as is done monthly with our very dedicated GHPN colleagues in Pakistan.
Corrie and Tanja were very grateful for the outstanding organization and hospitality extended by the committee (pictured below).
