Research Exchange
The Research Exchange is an IFMSA’s (International Federation of Medical Students' Associations) project, which aims to offer all students in medicine the chance to go to a foreign university for a research project that lasts one month.
The research project is led by a university department that conducts scientific research. It aims to enable foreign students to acquire the scientific and research methodology that is the basis of that particular study.
Each country relies on a NORE (Officer on National Research Exchange), which coordinates the work of several LOREs (Local Exchange Officer on Research Exchange). The NORE annually updates the number and the characteristics of the various research projects of its country. It’s charge of the LORE to contact the various departments involved in the research projects of their faculties.
In this way the student in medicine and surgery has the opportunity to choose between a wide selection of more than 70 countries throughout the world. It’s important underline that within each country is given to the students the choice to apply for the research project that most satisfy their academic interests.
The student recipient the project will attend the Department chosen by himself and he will attend its research project under the careful supervision of a qualified tutor. The tutor has got the function to guide the student through the introduction of the basic principles of a scientific research. In this sense the Research Exchange project has the double valence to be both theorical and practical and requires an active role by the student. For this reason, each applicant student is selected by the LORE according to several requirements (knowledge of a foreign language, curriculum studiorum, involvement in university activities etc. ..)
The Research Exchange Project aims to provide an initial understanding on different methods of approach to research, medical education and public health. At the end of the course (when a certificate is issued), lasting at least four weeks (some projects optionally allow the student to remain at his own expense over the period offered by), the student will have acquired the ability to identify , formulate and solve problems incident to the research study conducted. In other words, this project aims to educate the mind of the student to the scientific and research approach of various medical field’s problems.
The Research Exchange is a bilateral trade between the various students’ associations belonging to IFMSA. This means that the participants will have guaranteed food and shelter, throughout the period of staying abroad, and together with the scientific content, the individual associations will be responsible for organizing a Social Program showing the social, cultural and recreational aspects of the host city.
In order to organize this dense network all LOREs meet with their NORE in two national events during the year. They are:
- National Congress in November
- Spring Meeting in May
Afterward the NORE meets at international level with other countries’ NOREs in three events during which the Standing Committee On Research Exchange (SCORE), coordinated by a SCORE-Director, meets to discuss and tackle problems, develop targets and conclude exchange contracts. They are:
- SRT- Sub Regional Training
- Winter General Assembly in March
- Summer General Assembly in August
Today Research Exchange programs active in into SISM local comitees are about 120. All informations are uploaded into a Research Exhcange Database, which brings together all projects available in the world, easily viewable in the IFMSA’s webpage, score section (www.ifmsa.org / score).
Every year about 70 Italian students benefit from this project and many foreign students are hosted into our universities. In this sense the Research Exchange programme also aims to widen the horizons of communication and cultural exchange between different countries and civilizations and to promote their meeting.
