VU Faculty of Medicine Strengthens International Ties: Focus on Partnership with Turkey

The Faculty of Medicine at Vilnius University (VU) welcomed the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to Lithuania, Esra Toplu, together with Counsellor Cengiz Gunes. The distinguished guests were received by the Dean of the VU Faculty of Medicine, Prof. Dalius Jatužis, Vice-Deans Assoc. Prof. Laura Nedzinskienė and Dr Aleksas Pikturna.

During the meeting, the Ambassador expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to visit the Faculty of Medicine and gain deeper insight into its activities. She introduced Turkey’s public healthcare system, discussed models of cooperation between universities and hospitals, and noted the growing academic ties between Turkey and Lithuania.

According to the Ambassador, students from Turkey make up the largest group of Erasmus+ students at Vilnius University. Many of them also study at the Faculty of Medicine, both as exchange students and as full-degree students.

Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Assoc. Prof. Nedzinskienė noted that the faculty currently has around 20 full-degree students from Turkey. They are enrolled in English-taught programmes in medicine, dentistry, and nursing. She also pointed out that there are additional students of Turkish origin who have arrived from other countries. According to the Vice-Dean, the Faculty of Medicine has both the willingness and the capacity to welcome more students from Turkey; however, there is currently a lack of partners who could contribute to attracting them.

Prof. Jatužis emphasised that Turkey is an important partner with whom the VU Faculty of Medicine seeks to strengthen cooperation not only in studies but also in research.

“Although there are already individual initiatives in place, it would be meaningful to consider developing closer academic and scientific ties in the future, including the signing of an inter-university cooperation agreement,” said the Dean.

During the meeting, Prof. Jatužis also introduced the Medical Science Centre, its ongoing activities, the Lithuanian Population and Rare Diseases Biobank, the faculty’s development plans, and its commitment to strengthening internationalisation and interdisciplinarity. Newly established thematic research groups were also discussed. According to Prof. Jatužis, particularly promising areas for cooperation include artificial intelligence, digitalisation, and the application of information technologies in medicine.