MEDIA ALERT 03/10/2011 page 1 of 7. Rotterdam, the Netherlands October 3, 2011

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1 page 1 of 7 Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam selected by the European Commission to lead an international partnership of 11 universities in medicine and the health sciences Rotterdam, the Netherlands October 3, 2011 Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam has been selected by the European Commission s Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) to lead a partnership of 11 universities centered on the Western Balkan region. Under the framework of the Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window (ECW), this partnership will foster cooperation, and ensure the exchange of students and academic staff between EU Member States and countries in the Western Balkans. Dedicated to study, teaching, training and research in medicine and the health sciences, it will involve five universities in EU countries and six in the Western Balkans. Kick-off meeting ERAWEB on board De Rotterdam Named ERAWEB (Erasmus Mundus-Western Balkans), the project will focus on Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Serbia. The members of the consortium are among the world s best-known universities for research training in medicine and the health sciences. In the EU, the members of the partnership are Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, The objective of the External Cooperation Window is to further mutual enrichment and understanding between the European Union and Third Countries. Through a mobility scheme involving student and academic exchanges between the EU and four designated countries in the Western Balkans, the Window is designed to promote cooperation between higher education institutions in these countries, and the exchange of their students and academic staff for study, teaching, training and research.

2 page 2 of 7 Germany; Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy; University of Torino, Italy; and University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Austria. In the Western Balkans, the members are the University of Belgrade, Serbia; the University of Niš, Serbia; the University of Novi Sad, Serbia; the University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Macedonia, and the University of Tirana, Albania. Dedicated to sustainable contributions to mutual enrichment and greater understanding between the people of the European Union and the Western Balkans Health matters to patients and populations. This explains the programme s focus on the medical sciences, and on all health-related fields of study. By combining research and training inputs, the programme will build the capacities of those who seek careers as researchers in medicine and the health sciences, those who wish to combine research and clinical work, and increase their eligibility for involvement in a PhD research project. Whether these ambitions are to be pursued in academia, the public sector or industry, the programme will expressly include people, irrespective of gender, who would not otherwise have access to the level of teaching we can provide. To promote student and academic exchanges between the EU and the designated countries in the Western Balkans, the EACEA website outlines the individual exchange and career-development activities envisaged under the programme. The call for registrations will open no later than January The first wave of exchanges is expected to start in February-March Prof. Albert Hofman, MD, PhD, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, the Netherlands (coordinator): Students and academic staff wishing to participate in the ERAWEB programme seek national or international careers as researchers, executives or advisors in the health sciences. Whatever their fields of interest clinical medicine, drug research, public health, or health-policy development they all serve one overarching interest: people s health. Our consortium of ERAWEB universities has the potential to accommodate all their ambitions. What the partners say about ERAWEB University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology (UMIT), Austria: As a Life and Health Sciences University, and as an international leader in Public Health, Medical Decision Making and Health Technology Assessment, UMIT greatly looks forward to welcoming students and faculty from the Western Balkans. It will be a pleasure to provide our visitors with training in methodological research, opportunities to enhance teaching skills, and exposure to international research projects.

3 page 3 of 7 Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Germany: By training excellent young health researchers to collect relevant data, analyze complex scenarios, and prepare actions to implement their findings, we intend to maximize the participants ability to provide focused inputs that will shape their countries health systems. Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy: We eagerly anticipate hosting students from the Western Balkans. We look forward to exchanging expertise not only on public health, health economics and health management, but also on health-technology assessment, genetic epidemiology, and public-health genomics. We also look forward to improving and promoting intercultural cooperation with Third Countries across disciplines that are key to future advances. Our visitors will be involved in faculty research and training. They will develop their own projects, and discover the excitement of advancing the frontiers of knowledge. University of Torino, Italy: ERAWEB is a great opportunity to meet and work with young talents from Western Balkans and the European Union. We join the programme with great excitement and high expectations. University of Tirana, Albania: Prof. Alfred Priftanji, University of Tirana, Albania, Faculty of Medicine: This collaborative initiative on Medical Education in Research is a very wise investment in the Balkan Countries, and very appropriate to my country s needs. By building capacity in research and healthcare, it will provide a powerful catalyst for modernizing our medical schools. I applaud this unprecedented partnership between the universities. University of Sarajevo, Medical Faculty, Bosnia and Herzegovina: Mobility is now an essential aspect of medical practice and education. Through its specific application to medicine and health sciences, the ERAWEB mobility programme will enable students to get involved in research at another university, and to achieve not just personal academic benefit, but also benefit for their home institutions. University of Belgrade, Serbia: Prof. Dr. Neda Bokan, Vice Rector of the University of Belgrade: Together with other faculties involved in biomedical research, the University of Belgrade and its Faculty of Medicine strongly believe that the ERAWEB programme will be a breakthrough in establishing efficient and sustainable collaboration in the training of young scientists between Western Balkans and EU countries. Milena Milovanovic, MD, PhD, University of Niš, Faculty of Medicine, Serbia: The Faculty of Medicine at Niš believes in building international communities at home and abroad a goal to which the ERAWEB programme will make a very strong contribution.

4 page 4 of 7 University of Novi Sad, Serbia: As a participant in the ERAWEB programme, the University of Novi Sad has a new and exciting opportunity to expand its research activities and to involve its students in new scientific work. Our senior students will be able to gain new experience and to complete part of their thesis abroad. By giving them access to the European research community, ERAWEB will be of great importance to our students. H.E. Mr Cedomir Radojkovic, Ambassador of Serbia to the Netherlands: The Embassy of the Republic of Serbia to the Kingdom of the Netherlands supports the project ERAWEB (Erasmus Mundus-Western Balkans) aimed at fostering the cooperation between the medicine and health sciences universities in the selected EU member states (Austria, Germany, Italy and The Netherlands) and the Western Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Serbia). We are deeply convinced that the project will greatly contribute both to professional capacity building of the participants as well as the improvement of personal relations and better understanding among the direct beneficiaries. We also hope that the project will lead towards better and sustainable development of the health policies and services in the Western Balkan countries. The Embassy of Serbia uses this opportunity to express its gratitude to those committed professionals whose endeavour made this important and useful project possible and to the European Commission for financially supporting it. Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia: Prof. Dr Velimir Stojkovski, Rector: Keeping up with global developments is a challenge in all competitive, knowledge-based societies. Universities are the main drivers of the prosperity of tomorrow: as reservoirs of highly-trained graduates who can respond to changing labour markets and make their economies creative, innovative and competitive, they are in an excellent position to find answers to global challenges. By offering the best resources for international education in the health sciences, ERAWEB will help them enormously. The students and staff who participate in this joint mobility program will benefit from the valuable opportunities offered by the most renowned European universities in this field. H.E. Mr Nikola Dimitrov, Ambassador of Macedonia to the Netherlands: It was a real pleasure to witness the kick-off of such an important programme. Through cooperation, ERAWEB will improve healthcare, health education and health research in Europe. It is thus a true example of the cooperative spirit that has made Europe strong that makes Europe Europe.

5 page 5 of 7 ERAWEB partner universities: European Union Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, the Netherlands (coordinator) Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Germany Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy University of Torino, Italy University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, Austria Western Balkans: University of Belgrade, Serbia University of Niš, Serbia University of Novi Sad, Serbia University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Macedonia University of Tirana, Albania About ERAWEB ERASMUS MUNDUS-WESTERN BALKANS is a joint mobility programme provided by six Western Balkan universities and five EU universities. Students and faculty members will benefit from opportunities to study, teach and research abroad; the participating universities will increase their teaching capacities, build research expertise, and gain international visibility. ERAWEB s focus is on the health sciences. Its research will target the factors that influence population health and the development of possible interventions towards health improvement. By enhancing the academic skills of students, researchers and teachers, the programme will stimulate the development of the Western Balkan countries. Research projects within ERAWEB will have a direct impact on population health Objectives: As an international academic mobility programme involving five EU universities and six Western Balkan universities, all focusing on Health Sciences, ERAWEB recognizes how health affects the development of countries and citizens. This area of health policy and practice is closely linked to development priorities across the Western Balkan region. Health research contributes to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, and each country in the Region has signed the Skopje pledge, which commits them to improving their health systems and to ensuring universal access to high-quality public healthcare. ERAWEB will address the issue of health in two ways. Firstly, it will enhance the academic skills of students, researchers and teachers working in the health sciences. Secondly, research within ERAWEB will identify factors that influence not only the health of populations, but also the development of interventions to improve it.

6 page 6 of 7 Key features of the programme 1 Mobility: Student and academic staff exchanges will be promoted and supported. 2 Research training: As well-educated professionals are essential for a fully functioning healthcare system, there will be a strong focus on the development, promotion and implementation of joint research training in medicine and the health sciences. 3 Scientific development: ERAWEB will encourage and facilitate collaborative research in disciplines related to the health sciences. 4 Capacity-building: ERAWEB will stimulate collaboration between the partners and strengthen the sustainability of EU-funded projects in Member States. Through student exchanges and train the trainer activities, it will ensure short and long-term capacity in the Health Sciences, particularly with regard to the quality and quantity of researchers and policymakers. Thematic needs Health is critical to a country s economic development. It is a key determinant of economic growth and development, while ill health is both a cause and an effect of poverty. Healthy citizens are fundamental to the economic, social and democratic development of any country. To improve health-science education in the Western Balkans, the programme will cover three topics: Health & Healthcare, Public Health and Health Economics. Mobility During the four-year timeframe of the programme, 180 individuals from undergraduates to post-doctorates and staff members will undertake a period of study abroad, thereby boosting their knowledge and understanding of health-science research. Our partnership involves some of Europe s largest and most successful health-science faculties. As these universities will pool their knowledge and expertise, all those aspiring to become an academic whether in medicine, the public sector or industry will benefit from the best international educational resources in health science, in the Western Balkans and European Union alike. When recruiting students, ERAWEB will seek to identify excellent students from vulnerable groups. These have been carefully defined, and include refugees, internally displaced persons, women, and Roma people. About the Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window As a cooperation and mobility scheme for higher education, the Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window (EM ECW) was launched by the Europe Aid Cooperation Office, and implemented by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Its objective is to achieve better understanding and mutual enrichment between the European Union and Third Countries through forms of collaboration in higher education that promote the exchange of people, knowledge and skills. These objectives will be achieved by promoting partnerships and institutional cooperation exchanges between European Higher Education Institutions and Third Country institutions, and through a mobility scheme that focuses on student and academic exchanges.

7 page 7 of 7 About the Netherlands Institute for Health Sciences NIHES The Netherlands Institute for Health Sciences (NIHES) is an alliance of leading Dutch universities and research institutes that collaborate on quantitative medical and health research. In our Master of Science programmes and short courses, we provide graduate and postgraduate research training in quantitative medicine and the health sciences. We have five core disciplines Epidemiology, Clinical Epidemiology, Genetic Epidemiology, Public Health, and Medical Informatics and four key partners: Erasmus University Rotterdam, the University of Amsterdam, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, and the Netherlands Cancer Institute. ERAWEB coordinator: Prof. Albert Hofman, MD PhD Science Director, Netherlands Institute for Health Sciences - NIHES Chair of the Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam ERAWEB media contact: Peter Zimmermann MA Netherlands Institute for Health Sciences - NIHES Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam PO Box CA Rotterdam THE NETHERLANDS Phone: +31 (0) p.zimmermann@erasmusmc.nl eraweb@erasmusmc.nl ERAWEB project summary sheet