RSU launches cooperation with Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Amberg-Weiden

On 20 September, two representatives from Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Amberg-Weide in Germany (OTH) – Professor Clemens Bulitta, the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, and Professor Ralf Ringler from the Faculty of Engineering and the Head of the Medical Engineering – visited Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU). Representatives from both universities discussed several potential areas of cooperation, such as student exchange programs, summer and winter schools, cooperation in medical assistant and nurse training with modern simulation technologies, medical economics, infection control, and the possibilities of training German students in Doctors Safe Train foundation classrooms. In addition, both parties discussed opportunities to participate in joint international research projects.

The morning meeting was opened by RSU Rector, Professor Aigars Pētersons, who affirmed that cooperating with other universities is one of RSU’s priorities as an open European university. ‘We are proud of our achievements in developing various modern simulation technologies and using them in the study process to develop and upgrade our students' skills,’ emphasised Prof. Pētersons.

Speaking after him Prof. Bulitta introduced OTH as a modern German institution of higher education with 33 study programmes and 3 300 students. The institution has four departments, one of which is the Department of Medical Engineering that is the department that could serve as a basis for launching a cooperation with RSU. Prof. Bulitta emphasised that the university has developed an efficient cooperation model with the private sector so as to ensure that knowledge is transferred from the university to the industry. This was followed by Ingus Skadiņš, the Vice-dean of the RSU Faculty of Medicine, who gave an outline of the study programmes offered by the RSU Faculty of Medicine.

In the afternoon, the lecturers from OTH visited the RSU Medical Education Technology Centre and were introduced to the various simulation technologies available at the centre. They also participated in a round table discussion with members of the Simulation-Based Education Council, representatives from the Doctors Safe Train foundation and RSU to discuss potential forms of cooperation and ways in which to implement them. Both universities are planning to draw up and sign an agreement to ensure that the cooperation is efficient and so that the conditions are accurately defined and assessed.

On the previous day, 19 September, the guests and RSU representatives visited the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies and got acquainted with the Doctors Safe Train foundation to see what cooperation opportunities might be developed.