KUCHING: The Head of the School of Information and Communication Technologies at Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, Professor Patrick Then, has earned the distinction of becoming a Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
In a press release on Tuesday (Oct 24) Swinburne University of Technology said the prestigious honour is awarded to individuals who have made a significant contribution in the field of cardiology.
“Then is a leading expert in health informatics and digital health research and development. He was one of only five Asia-Pacific representatives at the inaugural Digital Summit by the ESC in Estonia in 2019.
“Widely published in top international journals and conferences, he has also developed several digital health interventions that have been implemented in clinical practice.
“His innovative works in managing Covid-19 have also received recognition by the Sarawak State Government and the Sarawak State Health Department,” it said.
In addition to his research, he is a passionate advocate for digital health education and capacity building.
According to him, everyone will be beneficiaries of digital health in the future, if not now.
“This is why I want to ensure the young generations of researchers, technologists and educators are trained and adequately equipped to bring digital health to new heights,” he said.
His election as Fellow of the ESC is testament to his significant contribution to the field of cardiovascular diseases.
“Then’s election as Fellow of the ESC is a notable achievement for a professor in IT.
“It is a well-deserved recognition especially with his decades of cutting-edge research in digital health, collaborations with cardiologists both within Sarawak and nationwide and most significantly his successful building of a team of IT professionals who partner global healthcare professionals to address heart health,” said President, National Heart Association, Malaysia Dr Alan Fong,
Aside from his enormous contribution to digital health, Then holds distinguished roles as Board Member of Sarawak Development Institute, President of the Society for Design and Process Science in the USA since September 2023, panel member for the prestigious Yayasan Tun Taib Scholarship and technical committee member of the Malaysian Standard’s Software and System Engineering.
On top of his role as Head of the School of Information and Communication Technologies at Swinburne Sarawak, he is also the Director for the university’s Centre for Digital Futures and Programme Leader (Sarawak), Swinburne Melbourne Data Science Institute.
