The 1st ASEAN Conference on Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in Health Sciences was held on 20–22 November 2000 at the Clinical Research Centre Auditorium. This conference was jointly organised by the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Dentistry and CDTL.

More than 230 health science educationists attended the conference. They came from the region and beyond, from countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Japan, Pakistan, Australia, Canada, South Africa, etc. The conference was also strongly supported by the local health science educationists and practitioners, with representatives from Singapore General Hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, etc. Participants also included NUS staff from the faculties of Medicine and Dentistry.

Four experienced PBL practitioners presented the plenary lectures. They were Professor Louise Samson, University of Montreal; Associate Professor Jacques Corcos, McGill University; Dr Scheltus J. van Luijk, University of Maastricht; and Professor David Kwan, McMaster University. The proceedings, divided into four symposium sessions, dealt with the different issues of PBL such as assessment and quality assurance.

Three of the plenary speakers also conducted the pre-conference workshops. Each workshop focused on a different essential aspect of the PBL tutorial exercise. The workshop on ‘How to Function as a PBL Small Group Tutor’ was led by Prof Kwan; A/Prof Corcos conducted ‘Evaluation of Student Performance and How to Give Feedback in PBL’; and the design of problems used in PBL sessions was discussed in Prof Samson’s workshop.

Another highlight of the conference was the Round Table Discussion of Deans. Six Deans from the Universities of British Columbia, Glasgow, Hong Kong, Melbourne, and NUS (Faculties of Medicine and Dentistry) shared their experiences in leading their respective institutions in the implementation of PBL.

The conference also witnessed the successful formation of the Asia-Pacific Association for PBL in Health Sciences (APA-PHS). The second ASEAN Conference on PBL in Health Sciences will be held this year in Malaysia, hosted by the University of Malaya.