Southern California Business Report June 24 Guest Dr. Mohamed Abousalem, Keck Graduate Institute, President

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to k MET fourteen ninety AM ABC News Radio
in the Southern California Business Report with the Vett Walker,
a show dedicated to highlighting successful Southern California businesses and
the people behind them.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Welcome and thank you for joining Southern California Business Report
on ABC News and talks k MET fourteen ninety AM,
ninety eight point one FM and km ET TV. I'm
you at Walker Live, blasting our signal from the center
of Southern California, serving a population of over twenty five million.
Get us crystal clear and on demand by downloading the
free live streaming app on Google Play and the Apple Apstore.

(00:42):
As always, a tremendous shout out to the team Mitch,
Bill and Sean I love you guys, and to our
special advisory committee that can be found at www dot
scbr talk dot com forward Slash Advisory Committee. Click on
the link and learn about the incredible leaders doing the work.

(01:03):
Speaking of incredible leaders doing the work, I am absolutely
thrilled and privilege to introduce doctor Mohammad Abu Salim, the
third President of the Keck Graduate Institute, who embarked on
his transformative leadership on July one, twenty twenty four. With
an illustrious career spending academia, industry, and nonprofit sectors, Doctor

(01:24):
Abusalim has dedicated himself to advancing research and technological innovation.
As the inaugural Vice President for Research and Innovation at
San Jose State University, he dramatically expanded student engaged research,
boosting funding from forty seven million to eighty four million
in just five years. His leadership at the University of

(01:48):
California Santa Cruz saw the doubling of invention disclosures and
the establishment of essential innovation resources. A recognized expert in
GPS technology, doctor Abu Salom's contributions extend globally through his
role at tech Terra, where he drove significant economic impact
in technology commercialization. Succeeding doctor Sheldon M.

Speaker 3 (02:12):
Schuster.

Speaker 2 (02:13):
He brings a wealth of experience and vision to Keith
Graduate Institute, promising to shape the future of graduate education
and innovation. Thank you so much for being with us today,
doctor Abu Salem.

Speaker 3 (02:27):
Thank you very much for having me here. It's quite
the pleasure. On io forward conversation perfect.

Speaker 2 (02:33):
So I was reading your bio and I learned a
new term in reference to the engineering specialty that you're
focused on. Please tell us a little bit about that
and what inspired you to pursue that area of technology.

Speaker 3 (02:50):
Sure, well, my pleasure. So I started as an engineer,
civil engineer, and that's when I took my civil engineering
degree from Alexandra University in Egypt. And in my last
year of civil engineering, there is the Capstone project and
I decided to focus on surveying engineering. And at that time,
serving engineering had this new technology coming out to help

(03:13):
with positioning and navigation around the globe. That's called Global
Positioning System or GPS that we know today that's on
everyone's phone exactly. So when I pursued my masters and
PhD in Canada at the University of Calgary, I decided
to venture into that new field. And at that time,
the industry was switching the name in Canada from serving

(03:37):
to geomatics, and it's geo being the Earth and maddox
is informatics, so it's information about the Earth, everything to
do with positioning and navigation. And I just love the technology.
I love the potential of the technology and the value
it brings to society. So I pursued my master's and
PhD in that field.

Speaker 2 (03:59):
That is so fun saying it's extremely fascinating, except especially
given the fact that we have EZRA just down the
street from us, which is the largest global imaging system
I'm sure using your technology as well for all their
satellites to take a look at the world and see
what's happening. That is absolutely fascinating. And so what led

(04:22):
you to becoming now the president of the Kech Graduate Institute.
You have a remarkable background doubling funding from forty seven
million dollars to eighty four million dollars at the University
of California and Santa Cruz. How did you achieve such

(04:43):
a remarkable boost and growth?

Speaker 3 (04:46):
So let me just maybe the first part of your
statement about you know what led me a hear, I
am a planner by nature, but I didn't replan my
career this way. One of the things that I did
all along, you know, since I was a young engineer
and started working as a professional industry, is to plan

(05:08):
ahead but also be flexible and look out for opportunities
that feed, you know, into my passion, but also bring
me to the opportunities where I would have impact and impact.
You know, when you work in industry, impact is usually growth,
you know, whether growth of value, whether it's to the
shareholders or to the company, or to the technology that

(05:30):
you're working on. So along the way, you know, as
I worked as an engineer, I developed this passion for
working with people, and I realized that I actually want
to work more and more with people and lead organizations.
So I decided to take my MBA after my PhD,
after I had worked for a number of years and

(05:51):
I focused on leading organizations and people, and I took
my MBA from Santa Clara University in the Bay Area,
and then after some time an industry when I was
up in Canada, the opportunity came to have an impact
on society through the support of startup ventures and also

(06:15):
bringing university research to the market. So the Canadian government
invested in tech Care. It's an initiative that started with
forty million dollars that were put in by the government
to support the industry. The geospatial industry gps gis like
as industry, So I was the founding CEO and I

(06:39):
enjoyed so much the opportunity to build a program from
the ground up, build the team and see the impact
of the work that you do on both academia and
for profit industry and the startup ventures. So from there,
when I moved to University of Californias and a cruise,
I was hired there to overhaul and grow the intellectual property,

(07:06):
you know, engine that the university has, as well as
build and grow the connection with industry. So I did
that really when I look at these activities that I've
done over the years there and then later at San
Jose State University where I let the research enterprise, I
do it through people, you know, And this is my

(07:27):
concept and philosophy about leadership is you need to define
the goal, what is the goal that you want to have,
what is it that the organization needs to achieve, and
then you identify the right people that are either on
your team or part of that value chain that contributes
to that goal, and then you work with them by

(07:48):
identifying and clearly articulating the vision for that growth and
then delivering developing with them the steps of the process
and the plan, and then delivering that with them. So
that has been my sort of roadmad in every job
I did, and I was very much attracted to Keck
Graduate Institute. It's truly a privilege to be the leader

(08:11):
of this institution for the value it brings to our
society in developing the future leaders of health care and
applied life sciences. And I'm really really privileged to be here.

Speaker 2 (08:23):
It really is a beautiful space. Doctor Alvuslim, Can you
talk about Keech Graduate Institute in the larger ecosystem of
the Claremont Colleges that you're amongst.

Speaker 3 (08:37):
Sure, we are a member of the Claremont Colleges here
in the LA area, and we are the youngest and
smallest of the seven independent institutions that make the Claremont Colleges.
So we are independent institutions, but we are connected together
as a consortium so that we could bring to our

(08:58):
students the experience of a small college, but with the
resources of a large university through the consortium. So if
you look at the Claremont Colleges, you're going to find
that each college has a focus, and the focus of
Graduate Institute is graduate education and specifically in applied life

(09:19):
sciences and healthcare professions. So we offer masters and doctoral
degrees in healthcare and applied life sciences.

Speaker 2 (09:28):
That is so exciting, and since you are a graduate institute,
I was absolutely thrilled to learn that one of your
primary goals right now is to focus on the community
college to pharmacy pathway or a doctorate in pharmacy pathway,
especially with the shortage of pharmacists that speak Spanish and

(09:50):
other languages. So before we get into the areas that
require a graduate degree, let's talk about this one that's
open to basically everyone that is in community college or
thinking about going to community college.

Speaker 3 (10:04):
I'm so glad you brought this up at the very
beginning here of our conversation because it is one of
those sort of unknown values that GEG Graduate Institute delivers.
So all our other programs require an undergraduate degree, as
you mentioned event, except for the pharm d program. It

(10:24):
can accept students from community colleges that have completed a
certain set of credits and courses that they have to dig.
In fact, they don't even have to attain the associate degree.
It's just a matter of the courses that they took
and a certain GPA that they have to achieve, and
then they would be welcome here to join our four

(10:47):
year program to become a pharmacist. But even the meaning
of a pharmacist that graduates out of a get graduate
institute is actually unique in the way we bit our curriculum.
So our trained pharmacists could be community pharmacists, could be

(11:07):
you know, at any of the you know the community
pharmacies that you see the CBS is, the Walgreens, the
other you know, neighborhood pharmacies. They could be clinical pharmacists
working as part of a healthcare coordinative care system or service,
working alongside primary care physicians and specialists to deliver the

(11:28):
complete health care program to the patients. Or they could
join industry and work at pharmaceutical companies to deliver that
expertise and knowledge of pharmacy in developing those therapies and medications.
So really a very broad career opportunities for our community

(11:50):
college students to join directly KGI and after four years
they have this doctorate and become professionals to practice pharmacy.

Speaker 2 (12:00):
Wow, that sounds like a speed pathway, right, a direct
hit to really being a part of a career that
helps the community that is in great need. Talk about
the projection and the need for pharmacists in the community today.

Speaker 3 (12:15):
So there is a need in general, and the Federal
Bureau of Labor Statistics, you know, estimates that there is
going to be continuing growth in healthcare professions, including pharmacy
at about thirteen percent out to twenty thirty one. So
that defines the opportunity and the growth and the healthcare professions. Yes,

(12:36):
it includes physicians, but also all the other allied healthcare
professions like pharmacy, occupational therapy, physician assistance and physical therapists
and other supporting professions. When we look at KGI were
were placed in the Centaura Valley and also next to
the Inland Empire. In our community, there's a big need

(12:59):
because of the concentration of population here, the density of population,
but also the uniqueness of the communities we have given
the socioeconomic you know set up here. There is a
lot of focused need for healthcare professions in general, but
pharmacists being typically one of the closest professions to the patients,

(13:24):
it is very critical for those pharmacists to understand the
patients life experience, you know, the community they live in,
the cultural you know, norms that they have within their community,
the language they speak, which is not always English of course.
So what we are hoping for is that KJI would

(13:45):
attract the students from our neighboring communities so they get
the education they need and then they join you know,
the forces in the community here and provide those services
in Spanish or Vietname or other languages to serve the communities.
And from our engagement with the healthcare groups around us

(14:07):
in the areas, they specifically told us that there is
a need for Spanish speaking pharmacists to provide better quality
and higher level of service to the patients. So we'd like,
you know, our young generation here in the community around
us to be aware of this need but also the

(14:29):
opportunity for them to attain a professional degree but also
give back to their own community in a very meaningful
and impactful way.

Speaker 2 (14:39):
Absolutely so when you talk about that career pathway that's
designed specifically for the community by the community by finding
students that are local, that are in line with the
culture and the community, to talk about what that does
for economic mobility for the entire community. As we art

(15:00):
creating this pathway into the medical field and establishing a
narrative of the need and putting out information about the
tremendous growth and opportunities that exist there.

Speaker 3 (15:14):
Is you know, the community as a whole is in
need of and evolving need and changing and advancing needs
for different professions, and obviously healthcare professions are some of that,
and applied life sciences in general. Attaining the right education
that is well aligned with the need of the community,

(15:38):
the need of society, the need of industry is the
first step for anyone who wants to build a career
and gainful jobs. To attain gainful jobs. So when the
student gets the degree, and when then they get engaged
in a job that keeps them close to their families,
then they're able to continue caring for their families and

(16:01):
providing for their families. So financially it is going to
be beneficial to the entire family and not just the person,
but also socially it keeps that fabric of that community.
And as we all know that in socioeconomic communities, we
get a lot of first generation college students. Now, when

(16:24):
you are a first generation college student, you are growing
up in a family that is not necessarily experienced or
able to provide you with guidance in your education. But
also they have a lot of expectations from you after
you graduate. They expect you to support the family. So
having the education in the very community you're growing up

(16:46):
in and having the jobs you know, in the same
area protects that social fabric and that family construct and
keeps the family together. And we really want to be
part of that solution for the community that we're part of.

Speaker 2 (17:02):
That is absolutely true. The cultural aspect and the expectations
that you mentioned are evident and I think true, especially
in our region that is growing tremendously, and it's exciting,
especially given the fact that KGI is a number three
best master's program in the US based on return on investment,

(17:24):
employment outcomes and graduate salary levels. Talk about how that
makes you feel to be recognized as number.

Speaker 3 (17:32):
Three in the nation. We're very proud of that cranking
and we're appreciative that Intelligent dot Com recognize the value
that KGI provides to the community. And as you mentioned,
if it's really based on that return on investment for
the students, the speed that they get their jobs, the

(17:53):
rate or the percentage of our students that get jobs
as they graduate, which is a high percentage ninety percent
of our graduates get their job in the first six months,
but also at the survey accounts for even the salary
levels and the income levels that they attain when they
get those jobs. So this is very important for us

(18:16):
and I have to share with you this fact, which
is KGI is really a hidden jet. Not everyone knows
about graduate Institute, even in our smaller community around us
here in Claremont or the neighboring cities. People know about
the Claremont colleges, but not necessarily about KGI. So this
type of ranking is an acknowledgment of the value we'll

(18:39):
bring to society and we really want to build on that.
And thanks to you for this conversation because this is
one of the levers that we want to use to
spread the word about the value of KGI in developing
those leaders of the future of healthcare and applied life sciences.
And those very leaders will be the ones who will
heal uplift our communities and not just the neighboring communities,

(19:04):
but also the global communities.

Speaker 2 (19:05):
Absolutely. And so as another three myself, two of which
are in college and paying for college tuition, that re
turn on investment of their education is very important. And
when you look at the healthcare career opportunities, they just
have such a broad range in clinical and non clinical applications.
Can give us an overview of what those career pathways

(19:27):
look like because when people think of healthcare, they're thinking
in the operating room or you know, taking someone's temperature,
interfacing with the patient. But it's far greater than that.

Speaker 3 (19:37):
We have that, and we have more. So we have
three schools at Kent Graduate Institute. The first school which
is the Henry E. Riggs School of Applied Life Sciences.
This is really the founding school. This is the beginning
of KGI and there we offer a master's programs and

(19:57):
PhD and Applied Life Sciences. So there's a Masters of
Applied Life Sciences with different concentrations somewhere the research focused
some as a pathway into medical school, so some students
come for that program. For medical school. We have a
master's also in medical device engineering. We have a master's

(20:20):
degree in bioprocessing and pharmacy biopharmaceutical engineering. We have a
master's in genomics and Genetic Data Analytics, so that's all
in the Henry Riggs School, as well as a PhD
in Applied Life Sciences. And then we also have a
School of Pharmacy and currently the School of Pharmacy is

(20:43):
focused on the Doctorate of Pharmacy with the different carrier
pathways that I talked about, either community pharmacy, clinical pharmacy,
or industry, but we are also looking at additional programs
that we can add in the School of Pharmacy to
give different options. And then the third school we have
is the School of Health Sciences, and there we offer

(21:07):
the Healthcare Professional degree. So we have genetic Counseling degree,
we have a physician associate degree, and we have occupational
therapy a Doctorate of Occupational Therapy. So as you can
see that we have some programs that are focused on research,
some programs that are focused on the science and the knowledge.

(21:29):
In fact, the founding degree, the first degree that started
at KGI is the MBS, the Masters of Business and Science.
You look back at the establishment of KGI, it was
really set out to bridge the gap between life sciences,
engineering and business. And with that degree, which we continue

(21:49):
to offer and it's very popular, we teach the scientists
the elements of business to make them successful in their
careers as professional. Whether they're going to be an entrepreneur
or going to work in a large company, they still
need to have that well rounded knowledge not just of
the science, but also of the business aspect. So we

(22:11):
have that. So these are the programs that cater to
research on science, but the healthcare programs really deliver those
leaders who will interact with our patients and the community
and provide those services and care that is needed out there.

Speaker 2 (22:28):
Wow, it sounds like such a wonderful, dynamic and robust
view and delivery of education. Like you said, beyond science,
but the business acumen to allow those scientists and those
entrepreneurs to be successful. So thank you so much for that,
doctor albu Salam. We are coming on a break everybody.
Evett Walker with ABC News and Talks Southern California Business

(22:50):
Report here today with doctor Mohammad Abu Salem. He was
inaugurated as the third president of the Kent Graduate University
Institute only twenty twenty four. He is a transformative force
in research at San Jose State University. He boosted research
funding from forty seven million to eighty four million dollars,

(23:11):
forging vital industry partnerships and supporting entrepreneurs for generations to come.
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Speaker 2 (26:36):
Welcome back everyone, I got Walker with ABC News and
Talks California Business Report here today with doctor Mahaffin Alasalom
inaugurated as the third President of Keck Graduate Institute on
July one, twenty twenty four. He is a transformative force
in research at San Jose State University. He boosted research
funding from forty seven million to eighty four million, forging

(26:59):
vital industry, park matnerships and supporting entrepreneurs. Thank you again
so much for being with us today, Doctor.

Speaker 3 (27:05):
Abusulam, thank you glad to be there.

Speaker 2 (27:07):
So prior to the break, we spoke a little bit
about KGI, the landscape of it, how it fits into
the Claremont Colleges, and its mission to deliver clinical and
non clinical education paired with the business agument to make
along Night successful in their ventures and some of the

(27:29):
things that you mentioned. Talks about hands on education and
kgi's commitment to active learning, which is a cornerstone of
the academic experience. Can you expand on that as well?

Speaker 3 (27:41):
Yeah, So you know, in this day's society and professions,
you can just work by yourself or alone. You can't
expect that you will be given the knowledge you need
by someone else. So you have to develop those skills

(28:02):
of how to work with other people, how to learn
along the way throughout your professional career. Really, so, kgi's
academic brand includes active learning or hands on education. So
what we mean by that is that we teach our
students by doing so. We make sure that the curriculum

(28:26):
that we have includes those components that they actually work
on projects and not alone but in teams, so they
get used to the real, you know, life environment when
they go out and graduate and do their jobs. So
we provide that value through classroom conversations, team projects. We

(28:48):
have Team Masters projects as capstone projects, research projects, all
the way to the clinical rotations, industry internships, industry fellowships
and all these components are baked into the curriculum of
our different programs. So we want to make sure that
when our students graduate, they know how to learn. So

(29:12):
we don't just provide them with the knowledge, but we
provide them with the opportunity to know how to learn
themselves along the way and developed with them along the
way their critical thinking and analytical skills, because that's what
they will really need as they go up and research
is a big component of that and it's a big

(29:34):
component of the active learning. So one of our strategic
goals for KGI is to grow the research activity we have.
Speaking of rankings, actually we spoke earlier about rankings. We're
very proud of the recent prestigious research Universities and colleges
Carnegie designation that we received, which is a testament to

(29:58):
the quality and the fact of the research we do
here at KGI. Our faculty do with the engagement of
the students and we deliver to society. So one of
our strategic goals is to grow that research enterprise for
the value it brings to everyone.

Speaker 2 (30:15):
That is absolutely exciting. And how do you select the
projects that you have your students learn from and collaborate.

Speaker 3 (30:22):
On very good questions. So another piece of the kgi's
academic brand is our engagement with industry, different than other
institutions and larger institutions. And because we're graduate institution, we
are focused on how our education is relevant to industry

(30:43):
and the quality and the excellence of how we deliver
that academic component to our students. So we work in
very close proximity with industry, both on the applied life
science side as well as the healthcare industry, and that
comes in many different shapes or forms. We have three

(31:04):
advisory boards industry advisory boards that work with our faculty
and students. They guide us on the curriculum and making
sure that it continues to be fresh and well aligned
with industry needs and market needs. They engage directly with
our students and advise them, mentor them support them in

(31:25):
so many ways. Our board of trustees itself, In fact,
we're very fortunate with the caliber and the quality of
people we have on our board of trustees who are
buying large you know leaders and innovators and applied life
sciences and other adjacent industries. And they themselves, in addition
to the standard you know work that they do as

(31:46):
a board of trustees guiding us as an institution, they
often engage with our students and support. So to your
question of how do we choose the projects our Team
Masters projects, these are set up to be real life
projects that companies need and we work with companies and
we identify an area that they would like to look into,

(32:10):
and we assemble a team of students for two six
students with a faculty advisor and connected with a company advisor,
and then they work on that project and have well
defined deliverables at the end of the project. So you
can see that the value is in many forms there. First,

(32:31):
the content is very relevant to industry because it is
defined by them. Second, the students get to engage in
a real life matter or issue or a challenge to solve. Thirdly,
the industry partner gets the opportunity to engage with our
students and hopefully this will serve as an interviewing platform

(32:52):
for them to hire those students after the project, so
everybody wins.

Speaker 2 (32:57):
It sounds like a wonderful, dynamic and eCos system of
learning and collaboration and growth, right because, like you said,
through this mentorship program, they're basically applying or being recognized
as potential employee except contributors to these organizations. Can you

(33:18):
talk about any of these projects, a specific project that
stands out to you that your students have had opportunity
to work on that would resonate to those that are
listening today.

Speaker 3 (33:28):
Yeah, so some you know, at a high level, some
of those projects would be of It could be on
the business side, on the science side, or a combination
of those. So a company could be looking into venturing
into a specific market with specific you know, therapy or medications.

(33:49):
The students could work on exploring and assessing that market.
The company could be looking on the pure side of business.
The company could be looking into a branding project or opportunity,
and then the students can get involved in that. Also,
it could be in focused groups for community health initiatives

(34:14):
and they want to explore what, you know, what can
be delivered in the most effective way. So the students
can research those opportunities or those options and then delivered
the results over the feedback to the company.

Speaker 2 (34:28):
That is exciting because they get real life, practical on
the job training while earning a degree exactly. That is phenomenal.
And I understand that you also obviously take great pride
in having small classes again, having that interaction, that direct
interaction with the student, that personalized attention. Talk about why

(34:50):
that's such an important part of KGIS model.

Speaker 3 (34:54):
Yeah, it is a very important component. So I tell
you I worked at two through previous universities, the California
State University System and the University of California, and these
are amazing institutions, and you know, they really contribute to
the education of California in so many big ways. When

(35:15):
I came to KGI, I found the same thing that
I had found in those other systems, which is faculty
with a lot of passion for the students, except that
KGI with a bit of a difference that has a
big impact on the student outcomes, which is faculty have
small groups of students to deal with. You know, KGI,

(35:38):
the total number of students we have is close to
seven hundred students if you account for all degrees and
the certificates we have. That's a small institution. And our
faculty get to spend time, the opportunity to spend time
with every student, knowing their career objectives, their progress, and

(35:59):
their education, their entire student experience at KGI, and if
you speak with our faculty, you're going to find that
they have genuine passion for the advancement of those students.
And our classrooms are set up even in a very
special way. If you see our classrooms, you're going to
find that most of them are set up in a
circular fashion. It's sort of a communal gathering somewhere round

(36:24):
round tables with six chairs around them for the students
to be seated during the lecture to encourage that engagement.
So the faculty member's goal is to engage with the
students and get the students to engage with each other,
and that helps build and strengthen that relationship. The personal
relationship between the faculty member and each of the students

(36:47):
we have and that's critical for the student outcomes that
we want to achieve. And therefore our retention rate is
very high. Ninety five percent or higher depending on the program,
is the retention rate, which speaks to the quality and
the value of the student experience.

Speaker 2 (37:06):
At KHI, Right, I mean having everybody facing each other
and focusing on that collaboration, that communication is going to
prepare them for their careers. When that, in fact is
what they're going to have to do on a daily
basis is collaborate, engage and work together with others to
tackle these health problems or business issues. And that's a

(37:28):
great way to establish that preparation for the student going out.
And I know that none of this can happen without
continuous growth and research funding. What does that look like
at KGI today in terms of the funding that you
do have available for research for your students and how
that supports their experience here.

Speaker 3 (37:50):
So, you know, as I came in and I took
the rings as president and looked at the opportunities for
the institution and that and sometime first on learning the
institution and listening to everyone from all the stakeholders, we
developed four priorities for the institution and the first one

(38:13):
is advancing our academic excellence and research is a big
catalyst for that. So we have set ourselves up over
the past you know, ten months or so in such
a way that we can provide improved services and support
mechanisms for our faculty so they can apply for more

(38:33):
grants for their research, government grants, corporate grants, and foundation grants.
So we expect over the coming years to see growth
in the grant funding that comes in. Right now, we're
building those mechanisms and systems and processes to allow us
to do that. And as you know, I did that

(38:53):
at San Jose State University, enjoyed it so much, and
I'm looking forward to enjoying the fruits of that effort
that we're putting it right.

Speaker 2 (39:00):
Now, absolutely, doctor Abusulam, because the way I see it,
the way you described it earlier, is you have the
goal in mind of what you want to do, and
then you develop the pathway to get there. How much
reverse engineering goes into that as an.

Speaker 3 (39:14):
Engineer, right, Yeah, there's a lot, and that's all what
it is. You have to really know exactly what the
steps that you need to take or do to achieve
that goal and then define the value that you can
contribute with as an institution, as a support mechanism for
our bright faculty who are really experts in their fields

(39:36):
and they just need that support so they can focus
on what they can do best, which is once they
get the funds, they want to do the great work
that we're looking to them to do.

Speaker 2 (39:48):
And what's exciting about KGII is that you are open
to new not only open, but committed to new technology,
integrating emerging technologies like AI into your curriculum. Can you
talk a little bit more about what some of those
emerging technologies look like, including AI? Yeah.

Speaker 3 (40:06):
So KGI when it started and the fact that we
remained the small institution, our ethos on campus is really creativity,
innovation and entrepreneurial approach to how we do things. And
we want to make sure that our programs are also,

(40:28):
as I said, aligned with industry needs and market needs
and the opportunities out there. But not only our programs,
but the way we also do business as an institution,
the way we conduct ourselves day to day. So what
we've done a few months ago we've launched Internality and
AI Steering Committee, made of a number of representatives from

(40:53):
the different constituencies, faculty staffs, students, and industry advisers. And
the committee is charged with looking at the best practices
and giving us recommendations on the curriculum. What can we
include and should include in the curriculum to make sure
that we are aligned with the needs out there. What

(41:15):
technology our students should be exposed to and trained on
so when they graduate they're ready for the careers they're leading.
What practices we should have, especially the ethics of using
AI for example, and how we can build that in
the curriculum and in the processes and how we conduct business.

(41:37):
The best platforms and technologies that we use to increase
the efficiency of the operation of the institution, and many
other things. So this is sort of an umbrella, you know,
committee that's going to provide us with those recommendations. But
when it comes to the curriculum itself, this is really
the job of our faculty, and we've given them the

(42:00):
flexibility to decide and determine what is the best approach
of including AI in the curriculum and what components they
should include, because some programs by default already use AI,
like you know, programs that have bioinformatics as a content
machine learning, they already have AI as a component. But

(42:24):
other programs can benefit from that. So we've also set
up in our faculty development programs opportunities for our familory
to get exposed to what AI is and what it
brings through the teaching and Learning academy that we have
for the faculty through on campus workshops or online training

(42:47):
modules to give them exposure and information about the opportunities
out there so they can determine the best way to
incorporate AI in the curriculum in there to deliver the
most effective instruction to use AI in student assessment in
so many ways. So as an institution, we are embracing

(43:11):
the opportunity. We want our students also to embrace the
opportunity and back to what I said earlier about we
want to teach our students how to learn, because when
they graduate, they will be seeing and getting exposed to
so many technologies, different technologies throughout their.

Speaker 9 (43:28):
Careers, and they have to really embrace the opportunity to
couple those technologies with their technical knowledge to bring out
the most effective and the most impactful outcome in their jobs.

Speaker 2 (43:43):
That is exciting and it's no wonder why KGI alumni
make such a tremendous impact around the globe. Let's talk
about what the contributions of KGI alumni to healthcare and
biotechnology and globals.

Speaker 3 (44:00):
So I'm glad you mentioned alumni because I have also
a very special appreciation of kgi's alumni. We are a
small institutions, so our alumni pool is small. We only
have about twenty eight hundred alumni of KGI. They are
our ambassadors out there. They are our ambassadors in the

(44:24):
local and global communities, whether they're in the pharmaceutical or
biotech companies, or delivering healthcare services, or doing research at institutions,
or pursuing Right now, a lot of them pursuing their
medical degree, their physician degree, and all these are professionals

(44:47):
who will directly contribute to the success and the growth
and the prosperity of our community. Now, what we see
and witness that I consider very unique in our alumni
is their passion for the institution and not for kis KGI,
but really for the current students. So you find a

(45:08):
lot of alumni coming back to our institution to give
seminars and share their wisdom and experiences with our current students,
help them understand the career options that are out there
that are beyond what they're learning here at KGI, contributing
even in some cases financially to the scholarship programs and

(45:29):
the services to support our students. So that alumni pool,
if you will, is an opportunity for our students for
that value that they bring back to the institution. So
it's one of our priorities. I mentioned we have four priorities.

(45:49):
Our second one is enhancing our student experience and we're
looking at the holistic experience of our students to make
sure that the KGI relationship is not at T and zaction,
but it's actually an experience. And we want to make
sure that we support our students and also when they're alumni.
So we're reviving the alumni council that we have and

(46:12):
we're making sure that we can provide them with the
support they need to build a stronger community among the
alumni to support each other, not even necessarily back to
the institution, but we want them as a community to
support each other.

Speaker 2 (46:27):
I love that it's a tight knit group of scientists
and innovators and business entrepreneurs just coming together for that
full circle moment right when they were once in that seat.
Now they're coming back to say this is what is
possible and maybe even recruiting at the same time.

Speaker 3 (46:44):
Percent that's wonderful.

Speaker 2 (46:46):
So I understand kJ also is engaged in various community
outreach programs. What do those outreach programs look like. I
believe one of them is Fridays you have open campus
or tours.

Speaker 3 (46:58):
So we have a lot of programs, and our admissions
and outreach team, you know, set up those programs in
different ways to not only connect with other institutions, you know,
with the students there to recruit them to come in here,
or or even our pharmacy and physician assistant program and

(47:18):
the occupational therapy program go out to the community at
fairs and advents to provide some clinical services. For example,
pharmacy students go out and look at, you know, the
medications that people you know receive and provide them with
guidance and support to help you know the community and
show the value of the profession. But we also have

(47:39):
other outreach programs. We have summer programs that we provide
to high school students and undergaluate students with the focus
on and advising them on carreer opportunities. So really, what
can you do with a science degree? Because if you
go to a high school student who's studying science or

(48:01):
someone who's having an undergraduate degree within chemistry or biology,
they might just think, Okay, I'm going to be a
technician in a lab, and that's all they could think of.
But when we bring them here, we give them an
opportunity to understand what carrier options they have out there.
We'll give them an opportunity to appreciate and understand what
research is and in fact engage them in research over

(48:24):
the summer, so then we open up their thinking and
along the way we do present to them what options
they would eventually have at KGI after they achieve their
complete their undergraduate education.

Speaker 2 (48:38):
That is so exciting. Well, we're coming up on the time,
but for those that are listening, please send out an
invitation doctor Albusulam. For those that are interested in learning
more about KGI and taking advantage of this amazing campus
designed for innovation, collaboration, and advancement.

Speaker 3 (49:00):
Thank you that I'm really grateful for the opportunity to
speak here. I invite everyone to visit our website at
KGI dot edu to know about this gem that is
here in the city of trees and PhDs that we
all home, the city of Claremont. We're very proud of
the programs and the value we offer to our community

(49:22):
and our society, and we're working hard to bring the
value of KGI to the whole world and not just
in California. And you're going to find an opportunity if
you want to pursue a career or upskill yourself for
a career in applied life sciences or healthcare, I encourage

(49:43):
you to visit our website and explore those options of certificates, degrees,
in person, online, whatever you want to pursue. I am
certain that you're going to find an opportunity here at
KGI exciting stuff.

Speaker 2 (49:58):
Thank you so much for that insight, Doctor Albus Stulan.
It's an absolute privilege to get to speak to you
in depth about these programs and learn more about KGI.

Speaker 3 (50:08):
Thank you so much of that. Thank you for having
me perfect all.

Speaker 2 (50:10):
Right for everybody listening, don't forget to find us on Facebook, YouTube,
LinkedIn and Instagram. Don't miss my conversation with Wade no Mura,
who is involved in both local and international humanitarian causes,
having worked on more than two hundred charitable projects benefiting
over two million people, including an NID to India, where
he has special passion having had folio as a child.

(50:34):
He also unveiled the twenty twenty six Rodeo Rotary Rose
Parade floats. Next week we will have Darren Goodman, who
began serving as San Berdandino Police Department's forty first Chief
of Police on June sixth, twenty twenty two. Prior to
joining the San Bordandino Police Department, he served as Chief
of Police for the City of UPBLND Police Department since

(50:56):
July sixteenth. Before assuming that role, he was captain for
the sam But if you know Sheriff's Department, where he
spent a total of twenty seven years. During his time
with the Sheriff's Department, Goodman's role included serving as a
police chief for the Chino Hills Police Department and commander
of the Frank Bland Regional Training Center. He also worked
in corrections, patrol, narcotics, emergency operations, regional gang enforcement, fugitive apprehension,

(51:22):
and SWAT. You do not want to miss it. We
will see you all next week.