The Medical University-Sofia hosted the annual meeting of the European Association of Medical Faculties (ECTS Medicine Association), which took place between 18-20 April 2024. The event brought together nearly 100 delegates from 53 leading medical universities and faculties from the EU, Switzerland and the European Economic Area.
The Rector, Prof. Dr. Boycho Landzhov welcomed the delegates to Sofia and to the Medical University-Sofia, and shared the importance of mobility for the University: “Our tradition in education has been more than a century old and we maintain it, while at the same time we are constantly evolving and modernizing. A key part of this modernization is our participation in international networks, the exchange of experience and the increase in mobility of students and academic staff”. The Rector emphasised that the membership in the ECTS Medicine Association makes a significant contribution to the development of the Medical University – Sofia as a good partner in international projects and collaborations.
There followed a welcome speech by Iliana Ivanova, European Commissioner for Innovation, Scientific Research, Culture, Education and Youth, who shared about the new European Commission’s initiative – the European Degree: “On 27 March, the European Commission adopted the European Degree Plan. This proposal creates new opportunities for students to obtain a genuine European Diploma by studying at higher education institutions in different countries. The degree complements our proposal for “Europe on the Move” from November 2023 and strengthens the integration of learning mobility into all aspects of education and training. This is a mission we share with the ECTS Medicine Association, and therefore your work on developing and continuously improving the European Credit Transfer System is so important.”
The Chair of ECTS MA Prof. Juan Arguelles from the University of Oviedo, Spain welcomed the delegates and outlined the development priorities and tasks for the Erasmus+ programme for 2024.
These include promoting the use of green transport for mobility, linking with European values and continued support for Ukraine. He recalled that the programme’s annual budget for this year is EUR 4.3 billion to support mobility and cooperation.
Prof. Arguelles also presented the new platform that is currently being developed to connect all the educational institutions that offer mobility under the program and all the students who are looking for mobility.
He thanked MU-Sofia and the team of Erasmus+ coordinators for the organization of the large-scale event and wished all participants to use the meeting to create new partnerships and to take the maximum from the presentations and workshops during the forum.
The Vice-Rector of the Medical University-Sofia for International Integration and Project Financing, Corresp. member Prof. Dr. Tsvetalina Tankova presented the Medical University-Sofia as a host and partner in the association, by telling more about the project activities and mobility implemented by the university.
Topics related to medical curricula were discussed – “Longitudinal curriculum” by Eliana Lemnos (RWTH Aachen, Germany) and “From mythology to medicine” by Vasilka Nikolova, PhD, MA Arts. There were presentations on the topic of internationalization at home – students and lecturers who do not travel – presented by Marina Casals Sala (Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Spain), who joined online, and Jerneja Čelofiga (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia), who was present at the meeting.
Workshops were held to discuss approaches to increase mobility such as “Application Opportunities for Erasmus+ Projects” with speakers Pinar Topsever (Acibadem University, Türkiye) and Prof. Juan Arguelles (Universidad de Oviedo, Spain) and “Enhancing Language Skills” with speakers Mario Antonio Martelli (Alma Mater Bologna, Italy) and Nicole Dourado (University of Coimbra, Portugal).
Magdalena Kasnakova presented the topic: “The Experience of MU-Sofia in Competence Upgrading through Developed Academic Capacity – presentation of the BI4E & INGENIUM projects”.
There was also a round table for sharing personal experiences from Erasmus+ student mobility with moderators Marina Stark (Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany) and Yanitsa Docheva (MU-Sofia). Presentation on the topic “Why do we send students for exchange? The attitude of medical students to racism in medicine and healthcare in Germany” was given by Simon Gerhards (Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Germany).
On the last day of the Forum, during the General Assembly, new members of the ECTS MA were accepted: the University of Augsburg, Germany, the University of Paris-Cité, France, the Medical University of Poznan, Poland, the Catholic University of Valencia, Spain, and Uppsala University, Sweden.
The three-day event ended with a cultural programme, including a visit to the National History Museum and the Boyana Church.
