On 21–24 October, Vice Dean for Studies of the Faculty of Medicine Dr Lijana Navickienė participated in the Erasmus+ programme seminar “Training Tomorrow’s Health Professionals. How to Make the Most of Erasmus+?”, which took place in Lille, France. The seminar was designed to bring together educational organisations training medical and healthcare professionals and contribute to strengthening the European health community. 

More than 80 representatives from educational organisations from various European countries participated in the event. The goals of the event were to discuss a common vision of training healthcare professionals in Europe; to share experience and good practices in implementing various international initiatives and activities in solving health problems, conducting healthcare and paramedical studies; to deepen knowledge about the mobility (KA1) and international cooperation (KA2) opportunities provided by the Erasmus+ programme.

During the event, which lasted several days, a conference was organised, during which public health challenges were discussed, the importance of cooperation in overcoming health crises was emphasised, and the goals of the EU4Health programme were discussed. Much attention was paid to discussions on sustainable and effective healthcare systems, discussing the main principles of such systems, including a focus on prevention and health promotion, the importance of integrated care, ensuring that patients receive the necessary assistance taking into account their specific needs, accessibility of healthcare services, emphasising the need to address financial barriers, regional disparities and lack of services, etc. 

The event also included thematic workshops on mobility, student and staff exchanges, international project preparation and experience sharing. Time and space were dedicated to finding new partners, developing networking and strengthening cooperation.

‘Such an event, which brings together a highly targeted group of participants, is an excellent platform for seeking new contacts and partnerships in developing internationalisation opportunities in healthcare studies. I hope that the established contacts and discussed areas of cooperation with potential partners from France, Italy, Slovakia, Belgium and other countries of higher education institutions will be further successfully developed in individual study programmes by promoting student and staff exchange, attracting foreign lecturers and developing joint ideas for joint study and research projects,’ says Dr L. Navickienė.