- IAD-MSC Corner
- Expressions Winter 2022
Leading IAD-MSC
New Director on Board
Mr Gerhard Zielinski, new director of Institute for Advanced Dentistry - Multi-specialty Clinic
In Love with Hong Kong
Mr Gerhard Zielinski, new Director of Institute for Advanced Dentistry - Multi-specialty Clinic (IAD-MSC), comes from a beautiful country, The Netherlands. Hong Kong won his heart when he did an internship here while he was studying international business management in 1997. After returning to The Netherlands, he kept seeking opportunities to return to Hong Kong. He finally had the chance to come back in 2006 and has been here ever since. “Hong Kong is a city full of energy. There is lots of business going on here. It is an excellent place to work because it is close to China and in the middle of Asia,” he said.
Mr Zielinski loves anything related to the sea such as scuba diving, swimming, boating, fishing and many more. He enjoys having quality time with his wife and two sons during leisure time. “We take pleasure in visiting some of Hong Kong’s many fantastic beaches when the weather is nice,” he shared.
IAD-MSC equipped with 45 dental chairs and state-of-the-art technology facilities
Moving Forward by Challenges
Prior to joining IAD-MSC, Mr Zielinski worked at Bupa Hong Kong (Bupa), an international healthcare company, and its healthcare provision arm, Quality HealthCare Medical Services (Quality Healthcare) for over 10 years in various senior management roles. He was primarily in charge of leading Bupa’s market entry into China and built a flagship medical centre in Guangzhou. His last role was the Business Development Director for both Hong Kong and Mainland China. He mentioned, “My prior work experiences taught me how to be flexible in my profession and respond swiftly to changing circumstances.”
His first commercial experience to the dental industry came from Quality Healthcare, which owns a respectable dental practice. “The medical centre in Guangzhou was equipped with dental chairs, so that got me some insights into how dentistry works in China. I developed the Bupa-branded dental centres here in Hong Kong finally,” he said. “Despite not being a dentist, I am confident my commercial awareness and business knowledge would allow me to contribute to the Faculty.”
Mr Zielinski is eager to take on the challenge of moving from the healthcare sector to the field of education. He wants to make a difference in the city since he is aware that there is a huge shortage of dentists, especially specialists in Hong Kong. He expressed, “Being the director of IAD-MSC, our vision is to become a world-renowned centre of excellence in advanced dentistry. We want to contribute to the oral health and wellbeing of people in Hong Kong; and be the leading centre for postgraduate education, training, and innovation.”
Being the director of IAD-MSC, our vision is to become a world-renowned centre of excellence in advanced dentistry. We want to contribute to the oral health and wellbeing of people in Hong Kong; and be the leading centre for postgraduate education, training, and innovation.
High-Quality Patient Care as Important as High-Level Postgraduate Education
According to Mr Zielinski, balancing clinical quality and the patient experience and business goals is the biggest challenge in managing healthcare related business. Adopting a patient-centric approach at all times will win your patients’ trust, which is the key to achieving business goals. He emphasised, “I am a firm believer in patient-centricity in healthcare related industry. That means everything we do must be designed with the patient at the centre. When looking at IAD-MSC’s patient journey, it often starts before the patient decides to come to IAD-MSC with a referral letter. Once inside the clinic, the journey continues, and once the patient leaves, the long-term patient engagement process begins. At every stage of the patient journey, we must provide the best possible patient experience, along with the highest quality care and outcomes, with the help of our reception team, students, supervisors, and clinical support staff.”
He asserts that for IAD-MSC, achieving a high-level of postgraduate education is equally crucial to offering high-quality patient care. IAD-MSC is situated at a brand-new building of 19,000 square feet, equipped with 45 dental chairs and other state-of-the-art technology facilities, where students from seven different dental disciplines can receive education and training in advanced dentistry and interact with real patients. He said, “We are providing postgraduate students with an optimal setting to advance their study. Together with a team of highly experienced program directors, supervisors and clinical staff, these factors all contribute to the HKU Faculty of Dentistry’s second-place global ranking in its field.”
From right: Mr Gerhard Zielinski, Professor Thomas Flemmig, Dean, as well as Dr Katherine Leung, Associate Dean and Dr Angeline Lee, Assistant Dean in Taught Postgraduate Education of the Faculty of Dentistry
Criteria of A Successful Leader
When asking Mr Zielinski about the criteria for becoming a successful leader, he answered, “Firstly, you have to bring out the best in the people that you work with by inspiring, empowering and supporting them. Secondly, you have to acquire the ability to execute your vision. Coming up with the vision alone is not enough. You must be able to champion your vision, engage with key stakeholders and enable your team to work towards that vision. Last but not least, you have to stay humble, curious and always remain open to learning new things.” He obtains a clear vision and a patient-centric mindset in his role as IAD-MSC leader and is willing to take on challenges and guide the team throughout the journey. “I very much look forward to working with the colleagues and students at HKU Faculty of Dentistry and learning more about dentistry,” concluded Mr Zielinski.