The Researchers’ Salon in November focused on the necessary changes in the approach of healthcare education induced by global challenges and the role of e-learning played in 21st century education. In her greeting address Dr. Mária Judit Molnár, Vice-Rector for Scientific Affairs emphasized that Semmelweis University, being a biomedical institution is concerned in both fields.
The first presenter, Dr. Michael Wilkes from the University of California, Davis School of Medicine, was introduced by the Salon’s host, Dr. Marcel Pop, Director of International Relations. Dr. Wilkes is widely known for his efforts to introduce medical students to the humanistic side of being a physician. He takes active part in public health and social sciences and as Vice Dean of the Davis School of Medicine he has introduced plenty of novelties to medical education by turning away from classical, lecture-style education and steering towards interactive, co-operative learning in smaller groups.
The Director mentioned that Dr. Michael Wilkes has been running a student mobility programme for the past decade that has enabled several students from Semmelweis University to study in California from one month up to three months.
In his presentation titled “One Health as a new paradigm to improving global health” Dr. Michael Wilkes pointed out that healthcare needs to be looked upon from a new perspective, as the different areas of our lives are inevitably linked. He illustrated it with a vivid picture: “If something happens in Africa, its effect can be felt in Europe by lunchtime and in America by dinnertime”. The biggest challenges of global health are the infectious diseases caused by new, already existing or continuously mutating viruses. He underlined that infections disregard countries and boundaries, therefore problems need to be approached from a global perspective, which means that representatives of different disciplines should work together on the solution. Solutions instead of being centred around one discipline should rather be reached through problem centred processes. According to Wilkes we ourselves hold the key to the resolution of problems and it depends on us whether we are able to change our mindset and how we educate the next generation.
The event’s second presenter was Dr. László Tornóci, IT head of the Centre for e-Learning and Digital Contents Development. Dr. Marcel Pop said that Dr. Tornóci had been working at the university as the engineer of the Institute of Pathophysiology since 1982. The main areas of his interest are mathematical models, statistics and the application of information technology in education.
The presentation of Dr. László Tornóci started by a general overview of the history of education. Ancient Greek and Roman teachers passed their knowledge on to students in the form of dialogues during pleasant strolls. Later, the introduction and spread of printing fundamentally changed the opportunities for learning. Dr. Tornóci said that just like the appearance of printed books, digital communication would not pose a threat to education, but will bring about essential changes. He added that education cannot be thought about as an activity confined to classrooms anymore. The volume of the curricula is increasing and their content change rapidly, whereas it is more and more difficult to keep students focused. Students strive problem based, more interactive approaches to learning and expect teachers to use IT aids in the classroom.
According to Dr. László Tornóci the e-learning system provides a solution to most of the challenges if used properly. It is flexible, makes communication between professors and students easier, there are fewer concerns regarding copyright issues in case of shared teaching material and students can have access to a number of interactive tasks. However, he warned not to refer to e-learning as distance learning, as the latter cannot be implemented in medical education. At the same time he reassured everybody that the spread of e-learning would not yield fewer professors and educators.
Semmelweis University’s e-learning centre was founded in 2011and it has been operating as an independent department since the beginning of this year. The establishment of the central e-learning service was realised, and a central authorisation system (“SeKA”) was set up that provides access to a number of services with the use of a single password. More than 150 e-learning didactic materials have been created and various online exams and competitions have been held. This year Dr. László Tornóci together with Dr. Ágnes Kokovay, Director of the centre are aiming at focusing IT developments on the accessibility of the e-learning system via smart phones and tablets.
Pálma Dobozi
Photos: Attila Kovács, Semmelweis University
Translated by Ágnes Raubinek
