Semmelweis University has signed a ten-year strategic agreement with Westpfalz-Klinikum in Kaiserslautern to establish the university’s second campus in Germany. The agreement was signed by Dr. Merkely Béla, Rector of Semmelweis University, and Thorsten Hemmer, Chief Executive Officer of Westpfalz-Klinikum.
Training and student mobility
Under the agreement, eighty students per year will be able to complete their clinical training in Kaiserslautern. Participants will spend the first three years of the six-year medical programme in Budapest for theoretical and preclinical instruction; during the second half of their studies they will undertake clinical practice in Germany, working directly alongside patients.
The Kaiserslautern facility will function as an off-site training location of Semmelweis University, meaning the local curriculum will be identical to the Budapest programme. Accordingly, students will receive the same diploma as their peers who graduate in Hungary or at the university’s first German site, the Asklepios Campus in Hamburg, established in 2008.
Appointments of German professors and university lecturers responsible for clinical teaching will be approved by the Senate of Semmelweis University.
Research and scientific cooperation
Beyond expanding geographic teaching capacity, the partnership also targets joint research. The two institutions plan to collaborate on projects in informatics, artificial intelligence and engineering applications in healthcare.
Background
Semmelweis University launched its German-language medical programme in 1983 and currently around one third of its students come from abroad. The Kaiserslautern campus is part of the university’s wider strategy to expand its international footprint.
