Novel Approach: Transnational Postgraduate Education and Training Programme in Musculoskeletal Regenerative Research Erasmus Project

Project Title

Novel Approach: Transnational Postgraduate Education and Training Programme in Musculoskeletal Regenerative Research

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2016

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Quality and Relevance of Higher Education in Partner Countries; Research and innovation; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

The project was initiated for the purpose of increasing information sharing&creating an international joint curriculum in the field of “Musculoskeletal System & Regenerative Medicine”(MSRM), which has achieved an efficient&effective education coverage through the long-term joint work of basic & clinical sciences in Europe(EU) and in the world, developing joint education programs, as well as working closely with foreign partners, thereby developing innovative diagnosis and treatment tools in the field.To summarize the main activities carried out during the 35-month project period,firstly,the job descriptions of the stakeholders of the project were made in the project kick-off meeting held in Istanbul.Then plans were made for the training activities and intellectual outputs (IO) indicated in the contents of the project.Content planning and training programs were organized for the workshops(WS) in which doctorate/master’s students,who constitute the most important step of the project and who study in the project partner institutions,studied together for five days.The WS were held in the Uni. of Bristol, UK; Uni. of Bologna, Italy; Utrecht Uni., the Netherlands; Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt Uni.,Turkey (TR) and Heidelberg Uni.,Germany,respectively.During these WS,transnational meetings (TM) were also organized in which instructors and project supervisors participated together to check and organize the progress of the project in line with the content and also to discuss the joint curriculum plan for two days.Finally, a Multiplier Event (ME) was organized in Istanbul to announce the activities of this program to a wider audience in our country with the participation of the students/academics who wished to work in this field.Organized with the participation of students and instructors from many different educational institutions of TR,this event attracted great attention and achieved its purpose.When the results and effects of the project are examined,it is observed that the distribution of the tasks of the project stakeholders was clearly defined in the project kick-off meeting held in Istanbul,and the harmony required for determining the budget costs,planning joint training activities,and working together with team spirit for 35 months was quickly and conveniently achieved through one-on-one communication.The WS held separately in each of the project partner countries that lasted for five days provided the students of basic&clinical sciences studying within the scope of the program with the opportunity of receiving training together in different EU countries,even for a short time,enabled them to study in the education laboratories in those countries,and facilitated cultural interaction by increasing one-on-one communication with other students.Through the TM organized in coordination with the WS,instructors and project managers working in the project for two days had the opportunity to work together.During this period, joint training curriculum and project evaluation meetings were held and various opinions were exchanged.In addition,these meetings provided the opportunity to examine the existing infrastructures and equipment related to the project partners’ advanced studies in the field of MSRM.Thus,mutual discussions were held regarding the other prospective joint projects and the planning of the individual infrastructure development of the project partners was also evaluated.Within the scope of the ME held in Istanbul,a productive meeting was held for two days with over 60 students&academics interested in and intending to conduct studies on MSRM in TR.Thus,many people were reached and informed about this newly launched higher education program in TR and its importance.When the project is examined as a whole with its long-term benefits,it can be suggested that MSRM,the importance of which is increasing day by day,is a field which has been studied for many years by academics working in basic&clinical sciences,in EU in particular,where many new treatment modalities have been developed for the related diseases.It is obvious that there is a need for an education system integrated with EU in order for TR to closely follow the developments in the MSRM,the importance of which will further increase in the upcoming years.Our project made it possible to provide many higher education students to study at the Department of MSRM of Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt Uni. with education at an international level in the current education year and the following years upon the completion of the joint curriculum thanks to the support of our project partners in EU,thereby meeting a major need in this sense.During the project,many bilateral meetings were held between the instructors and the senior academic staff,and thus new joint projects were planned.The web page (www.msret.eu),which was actively used during the project period,provided open access to the training documents and IO content,allowing them to be used as long-term training materials.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 196594 Eur

Project Coordinator

ANKARA YILDIRIM BEYAZIT UNIVERSITESI & Country: TR

Project Partners

• UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL
• UNIVERSITAIR MEDISCH CENTRUM UTRECHT
• ALMA MATER STUDIORUM – UNIVERSITA DI BOLOGNA
• RUPRECHT-KARLS-UNIVERSITAET HEIDELBERG