Euregio Medical School

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Euregio Medical School (EMS) is a project of the Italian provinces of South Tyrol and Trentino as well as the federal state of Tyrol to establish a private medical university based on the Anglo-American model.

Background and planning

The project was launched in 2010 by the South Tyrolean governor Luis Durnwalder and the Tyrolean science councilor Bernhard Tilg . The reason for the establishment is the small number of North and South Tyroleans at the Austrian medical universities and thus a feared shortage of doctors in the regions. The university should mainly be available to applicants from Trentino, South Tyrol and Tyrol, which raises some legal hurdles that have not yet been fully clarified. The university offers space for 80 to 100 first-year students. The opening was planned for 2013. However, this date is no longer realistic because the parliament in Rome has not yet given approval for the project.

The legal basis is formed by the European Grouping for Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) , which enables subsidies from the European Community .

Structure of the course

The course is carried out in cooperation with the Tyrolean private university UMIT in Hall , the Medical University of Innsbruck and the State College for Health Professions "Claudiana" in Bolzano . The preclinical subjects are to take place in the existing infrastructures in Innsbruck and Hall, the clinical subjects in Bolzano. The lessons will be held in three languages ​​(German, Italian and English).

The structure corresponds to the Anglo-American model of the medical school , in which the training to become a doctor is in the foreground, i.e. the course is predominantly clinically oriented, while a scientific focus is also involved at public universities.

Legal Aspects

The aim of the project was to offer North and South Tyroleans an opportunity to start studying medicine, regardless of whether they did well or not in the medical admission test prescribed in Austria. Especially with South Tyrolean applicants, the results of the aptitude test for medical studies, which have not taken place since 2013, were sufficient in 2010 for just 21 and in 2011 for 45 admissions at Austrian medical universities. In order to distribute the study places to exactly these applicants without discriminating against other interested parties from the EU, several proposed solutions were presented:

  • The introduction of admission requirements that include, for example, an Austrian school leaving certificate.
  • The introduction of tuition fees of 25,000–30,000 euros per year, which would be paid in the form of "student checks" for local residents of the region.
  • The introduction of an aptitude test based on the model of the PMU Salzburg

Due to the “ Gelmini reform ” it is no longer possible to open further medical faculties in Italy. The reason for this step is primarily the financial background. The region of Trentino-Alto Adige, which has pronounced financial autonomy rights vis-à-vis the state of Italy , disregards this decree on the grounds that the planned university will be financed by the state and will therefore not cause the state any costs.

Since the course is to be held in three languages ​​according to the model of the University of Applied Sciences for Health Professions "Claudiana", language barriers arise for applicants from North Tyrol and Trentino, which must first be broken down. Since South Tyroleans mostly grow up bilingual (German and Italian) and English is taught in all schools, this problem does not arise for them.

Political discussion

The project caused a sensation in Italian and Austrian politics and came under the crossfire of criticism:

  • The problem of the high failure rate of South Tyrolean applicants at the medical universities in Austria could not be solved by a poor quality medical university. The state of South Tyrol should instead contribute financially to the Medical University of Innsbruck in order to provide enough places for South Tyrol.
  • It is more productive and cheaper to prepare South Tyrolean high school graduates for the EMS at school.
  • Instead of investing millions in new infrastructure to solve short-term problems, it is cheaper to make the locations of North and South Tyrol and Trentino more attractive for doctors from other regions and countries.
  • The opening of the new university could endanger the quality of the existing medical university in Innsbruck, since its position as a national and international educational location would be weakened by falling student and case numbers.
  • The reason for the trilingual instruction lies mainly in the "filter function" in order to avoid being flooded by foreign (predominantly German) students. However, there is no guarantee that these candidates will be prevented from applying to the university anyway. The trilingualism also complicates the conditions for applicants from North Tyrol who do not speak Italian and from Trentino who do not speak German.

Herbert Lochs , the rector of the Medical University of Innsbruck, endorses the project. The Medical School can make better use of shared resources and further expand existing research collaborations (for example with EURAC in Bolzano).

Individual evidence

  1. Euregio-Uni planned. Tiroler Tageszeitung, November 17, 2010, archived from the original on November 19, 2010 ; Retrieved October 2, 2011 .
  2. Peter Nindler: Medical School should train doctors from 2013. Tiroler Tageszeitung, July 14, 2011, archived from the original on November 19, 2010 ; Retrieved October 3, 2011 .
  3. ^ Medical School: Rome throws the bill. Südtirol Online, February 4, 2013, archived from the original on February 6, 2013 ; Retrieved February 17, 2013 .
  4. ^ "Tiroler Euregio" has its own legal personality with "EGTC" - Durnwalder President. Südtirol-Online (stol), June 14, 2011, archived from the original on July 18, 2011 ; Retrieved October 3, 2011 .
  5. a b c d Anita Heubacher: Medical School as a remedy. Tiroler Tageszeitung, September 6, 2011, accessed on October 3, 2011 .
  6. Anita Heubacher: Land misses university concept. Tiroler Tageszeitung, September 7, 2011, accessed on October 3, 2011 .
  7. sf: DECRETO GELMINI SU MAESTRO UNICO: IL TESTO INTEGRALE. Art. 7. bambinicoraggiosi, September 16, 2008, accessed on October 3, 2011 (Italian, Gelmini decree in original wording).
  8. http://altoadige.gelocal.it/cronaca/2011/07/21/news/facolta-di-medicina-alla-claudiana-4656325 ( Memento from July 7, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  9. Tyrol could get a trilingual "Medical School". Der Standard, September 29, 2010, accessed October 3, 2011 .
  10. ^ Against the Medical University in Bolzano. (pdf (20.23kB)) Dolomites, archived from the original on January 26, 2016 ; accessed on October 3, 2011 (scan of the newspaper clipping).
  11. ^ Pius Leitner: Free University of Bozen - Medicine. Die Freiheitlichen, December 1, 2010, accessed October 3, 2011 .
  12. http://altoadige.gelocal.it/cronaca/2010/11/19/news/facolta-di-medicina-ostacoli-da-roma-asse-con-innsbruck-per-aprire-dei-corsi-2781007 ( Memento from July 1, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  13. Christoph Mair: Innsbruck defends itself against the medical faculty of Bozen. Tiroler Tageszeitung, February 22, 2011, accessed on October 3, 2011 .
  14. Medicine Faculty Bolzano: Skeptical college students. South Tyrolean Student Union, November 25, 2010, accessed on October 3, 2011 .
  15. Mag. Amelie Döbele: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Herbert Lochs, Rector of the Medical University of Innsbruck, is pleased about the resolution of the Innsbruck City Council to support Innsbruck as a university location. Innsbruck Medical University, accessed on October 3, 2011 .