12 September 2024

The medical programme at Linköping University (LiU) has won an international accreditation for student engagement and participation in shaping the programme.

Four female medical students enjoying the sun, study location Jönköping.
Several hundred medical students, distributed over twelve semesters and four study locations, have the opportunity to influence the programme. Photo credit: Emma Busk Winquist

“Education must change with the times. In the field of medicine, a lot of knowledge, specialisation and methods have been added over the past 30 years and today's generation of students learn in their own way. They must be given the opportunity to influence programmes so that they have the conditions that they think are the best for learning. We work very closely with our students,” says Éva Tamás, director of studies for the medical programme at Linköping University.

Headshot of a smiling woman.
Éva Tamás, programme coordinator for the medical programme.

The ASPIRE to Excellence Award is presented by the International Association for Health Professions Education, AMEE. Institutions from across the globe can apply. Winning the accreditation means that the medical programme at Linköping University becomes a member of an international network for accredited higher education institutions that meet the criteria for world-class healthcare education.

At LiU, collaboration between students and the university takes place in many forums in parallel. For example, there are student representatives on boards and committees at all levels where decisions are made on the development, strategy and logistics of the medical programme. Several hundred students, distributed over twelve semesters and four study locations, are given the opportunity to influence the programme. Since 2016, the medical programme is regionalised, which means that the students study in Linköping for the first five semesters and then at one of four campuses (Norrköping, Kalmar, Jönköping and Linköping).

Emil Öberg, the 2023/2024 vice president of the Linköping Medical Education Committee, which represents all medical students at LiU in education-related issues, sees the award as a win for student representatives throughout Sweden and a recognition of their work.

Headshot of a male student.
Emil Öberg, the 2023/2024 vice president of the Linköping Medical Education Council.Photo credit: Ida Bjärfors

“The university is sensitive to the students’ perspectives and our voice has a bearing on many issues. As representatives in the forums where the major decisions are made, we have been able to make changes that make a difference in students’ everyday lives, such as how digital teaching should best be used, and the opportunity to change your main study location,” says Emil Öberg.

The application is a collaboration between the programme board and students and was assessed by an international panel of experts. Student influence and involvement in the programme was evaluated based on several criteria. The evaluation also assesses student opportunities to engage in research, education and activities outside the programme through student associations and volunteer opportunities in the local community.

This is not the first time Linköping University has won an ASPIRE to Excellence Award. In 2017, the university won the award in the category “excellence in simulation”, i.e. simulation-based learning, for the real-life training that students from seven different healthcare programmes take part in at Clinicum, the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences’ clinical training and simulation centre.

The accreditation letter and a statuette were handed over on 26 August in Basel during a congress organised by AMEE. The medical programme plans to involve the students in the decision on where to place the statuette.

Learn more about the ASPIRE to Excellence Awards.

Translation by Anneli Mosell

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