Building a Digital Academy: A New Step for Traditional Medicine Training and Research in the 4.0 Era

Digital Academy becomes an inevitable model to expand learning, research and application of Traditional Medicine in the new era.

1. Digital transformation: From global trend to inevitable requirement of Traditional Medicine

Content

1. Digital transformation: From global trend to inevitable requirement of Traditional Medicine
2. Digital training platform: From traditional lecture halls to multi-dimensional learning experiences
3. Digital Research: Open Data Space for Modernizing Traditional Medicine
4. Digital academy infrastructure and ecosystem: Connectivity - security - cooperation
5. Future directions – From digital academy to traditional medicine knowledge ecosystem

The world is experiencing the most rapid acceleration of digitalization in human history. Data, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), simulation, virtual reality – all are reshaping the way learning, research and healthcare are delivered.

In higher education , digital transformation is no longer an option, but a mandatory infrastructure to improve training quality and meet social requirements.

With Traditional Medicine (TM) – an experiential field, taught through practice, the support of technology can open up a much wider knowledge space than the traditional approach. When ancient medical records, precious prescriptions, and indigenous medicinal plants are digitized; when students can learn pulse diagnosis, prescription, or acupuncture through 3D simulations; when AI can analyze thousands of medical records to find pathological models… the TTM heritage is “awakened” by data and artificial intelligence.

That is why the digital academy model is considered the strategic development direction of the Vietnam Academy of Traditional Medicine - where traditional knowledge is preserved in digital space and expanded without limits on time, location, and learners.

Tạo dựng Học viện số: Bước chuyển mới cho đào tạo và nghiên cứu y học cổ truyền trong kỷ nguyên 4.0- Ảnh 1.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Hien - Deputy Head of the Academy's IT Department said: In higher education, digital transformation is no longer an option, but a mandatory infrastructure to improve training quality and meet social requirements.

2. Digital training platform: From traditional lecture halls to multi-dimensional learning experiences

2.1 Digital lecture hall – where lectures "live" in visual space

Mr. Nguyen Minh Hien - Deputy Head of IT Department of Vietnam Academy of Traditional Medicine said that a digital Academy must first have a digital lecture hall - where each subject is built on a learning management system (LMS). Instead of just listening to lectures, students can:

Watch the video simulating the movement of Qi and blood according to the theory of internal organs,
Observe medicinal plants through 3D, 360-degree images,
Practice classic medical history analysis on an interactive platform.

This way of learning helps dry knowledge become intuitive, especially suitable for the micro or abstract knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

2.2 Digital students – personalized learning with data

When digital learning profiles are implemented, each student’s progress, ability, and level of achievement are automatically tracked. AI can suggest additional lessons, suggest review content, or warn of the risk of learning delays.

This "personalization" factor significantly increases the quality of training – especially in the field of Traditional Medicine which requires a long and cumulative learning process.

2.3 Digital lecturers – from knowledge transmitters to experience creators

AI and digital tools support lecturers in creating lectures, creating question banks, grading papers and analyzing learning abilities. Many medical schools around the world have used "virtual teaching assistants" to support learners and this is also the direction that the Vietnam Academy of Traditional Medicine is aiming for.

2.4 Traditional Medicine Digital Library - How to preserve heritage without losing its "soul"?

Digitizing thousands of ancient books, medical records, folk remedies and experience documents is a key task. The most important thing is to keep the original, fully cite the sources, clearly annotate the context and compare with modern medicine. Traditional knowledge only truly lives when it is preserved in its true nature and accessed with modern tools.

3. Digital Research: Open Data Space for Modernizing Traditional Medicine

3.1 National Traditional Medicine Database – a foundation for multidisciplinary research: According to Mr. Nguyen Minh Hien, a synchronized data system on medical records, medicinal plants, active ingredients, folk remedies, medicinal herb distribution areas... will help AI analyze pathological models and suggest new research directions.

Accordingly, AI can:

Find the connection between traditional medical nomenclature and modern pathology
Drug interaction analysis
Suggested optimal flavor combination formula
Or predict the effectiveness of the medicine based on the patient's individual characteristics...

What once required decades of experience from renowned physicians can now be simulated by algorithms – but still requires human judgment.

3.2 Digital lab – when simulation becomes an effective teaching tool: Pulse learning, acupuncture, medicine dispensing or anatomy simulation using virtual reality (VR/AR) helps students access more cases and clinical situations than traditional methods.

Digital labs do not replace practice on real patients, but create a solid foundation before students enter clinical practice.

3.3 AI in traditional medicine – combining ancient methods with modern science: AI supports the analysis of active ingredient structures, the identification of promising groups of compounds, the assessment of expected toxicity, and even the simulation of mechanisms of action at the cellular level. This is the direction that many Asian countries have taken to develop pharmaceuticals from traditional medicines.

4. Digital academy infrastructure and ecosystem: Connectivity - security - cooperation

4.1 Synchronous technology infrastructure: A digital academy cannot lack a data center, cloud computing system, HIS – PACS hospital management system connected with LMS, and big data analysis tools. The system must meet information security and confidentiality standards, especially with medical data and traditional knowledge.

4.2 Linking four houses - sustainable development model: The Digital Academy ecosystem needs to connect: Schools, Traditional Medicine hospitals, pharmaceutical and technology enterprises, domestic and foreign research institutes. This connection creates a complete training - research - application - transfer chain.

4.3 Digital governance – principles for sustainable operation: Standardizing processes, regulations on intellectual property for traditional knowledge, standardizing data and decentralizing access are mandatory requirements to ensure safety and long-term development.

5. Future directions – From digital academy to traditional medicine knowledge ecosystem

The development roadmap can be divided into three phases:

- Phase 2025–2027: Complete LMS platform, digital library; build data on prescriptions - medicinal herbs - medical records; deploy simulation courses.

- Phase 2028–2030: Extensive application of AI in teaching, simulation diagnosis, analysis of TCM data; expansion of international connection ecosystem.

- Period after 2030: Towards an "Open Knowledge Academy", where students - lecturers - doctors - researchers - AI learn and create together.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Hien said that the digital academy is not just a technology project, but a strategy to reshape the way of learning, teaching and researching TCM. When schools, libraries, laboratories and hospitals are "mixed" together in the digital space, traditional knowledge is no longer limited to ancient books or oral experience; it becomes more vivid, more accessible and has a stronger influence.

Digitalization is the only way for Traditional Medicine to enter a new era – an era where data, artificial intelligence and interdisciplinary science work together to develop a safe, effective and modern medicine.

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Source: https://suckhoedoisong.vn/tao-dung-hoc-vien-so-buoc-chuyen-moi-cho-dao-tao-va-nghien-cuu-y-hoc-co-truyen-trong-ky-nguyen-40-169251118102916976.htm