Development of curricula via international collaboration

About this project

<p>Medical governing bodies require that modern medical graduates show many transferable skills; indeed, the Estonian Ministry of Education recently introduced a framework “approach to learning” to guide practitioners in the qualities that modern students must develop through their education. Within this cooperation program, the University of Tartu and University of Iceland will collaborate to provide unique opportunities to our medical undergraduates to travel to a foreign country and complete short research projects in basic science for curriculum credits. In completing this project, our students will learn valuable skills, including communication, leadership, team work and critically, the importance of basic science to medicine. We firmly believe that this cooperation program will provide exceptional opportunities to our undergraduates to enhance their knowledge of the scientific process.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>

Bilateral cooperation results

Partners (UT, UI) participated in the project equally. Partners were very pleasant to work with, all faculty worked hard to achieve our goals under incredibly challenging circumstances (global pandemic, differences in cost-of-living between partner countries, assistance with searching for reasonably priced accommodation). Professors in UT and UI have initiated a scientific collaboration to work further together on lysosome function, which continues work begun during the mobility windows of our student participants. Partners also plan to submit future applications to enhance and develop our exchange program, as several students who were not ultimately selected voiced their great interest in participating in future years. Indeed, students from other undergraduate programs (not just medicine) also voiced their interest in participation.

Project partners

• University of Iceland Donor project partner· Iceland