Luca Sanwald is in his 7th semester of Medical studies at Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU). He is from Italy, and has a long history of running marathons in various countries. Luca would have participated in the Rimi Riga Marathon, which was to have taken place this week (16-17 May), but has now been postponed until further notice. Here he gives an insight into how social distancing has affected his training, his studies, and his family back in Italy.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) quickly succeeded in adapting the Erasmus programme to the online environment thus ensuring the programme’s continuity. The Erasmus programme is one of the cornerstones of the university’s internationalisation measures.
‘Although limiting the spread of COVID-19 is possible, citizens growing tired of social distancing measures could pose a danger,’ says Prof. Ģirts Briģis, the head of the Department of Public Health and Epidemiology at Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) in an interview with the LETA news agency on 27 April.
‘I realised that I wanted to become a doctor in the 8th grade when I first started learning chemistry. Perhaps it was the teachers who made me fall in love with the exact sciences, so incomprehensible to many, and to realise that it would be my calling. I then enrolled in a science-oriented high school to prepare for university and to fulfil my dream of becoming a doctor,’ recalls Elīna Tauvena, a 2nd year surgical resident.
The International Department of Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) invites students to become mentors to new international students starting from August 2020.
The aim of the mentor programme is to enhance the international students' experience at RSU by assisting them throughout their first study semester. Mentoring offers a great opportunity for students to get to know other cultures and establish contacts and friendships with people from different countries.
Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) started a research project at the end of January 2020 with the aim to use simulations to upgrade the resuscitation skills of doctors and nurses in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Children’s Clinical University Hospital (CCUH). The study is headed by Reinis Balmaks, Assistant Professor at the RSU Medical Education and Technology Centre (METC) Department of Clinical Skills and Medical Technologies and a doctor at CCUH. Balmaks has vast experience in organising simulations in both Latvia and internationally.
