It was with great pleasure that, on 31 March 2011, the founders of the European Medical School Oldenburg-Groningen (EMS) received the “Nordwest Award”, worth 30,000 euros, from Dr Stephan-Andreas Kaulvers, Chairman of the Board of Bremer Landesbank. For more than seven years, the neurobiologist and Rector of the Hanse Wissenschaftskolleg, Prof. Dr Reto Weiler, Prof. Dr Hans-Rudolf Raab, Chief Physician at Oldenburg University Hospital, and the hearing researcher and spokesperson for the international Research Training Group in Neurosensory Science at the University of Oldenburg and the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Prof. Dr Dr Birger Kollmeier and Prof. Dr Djordje Lazovic, Director of the Pius Hospital in Oldenburg, have been working towards the establishment of a cross-border medical degree programme. The aim is to offer the first European medical degree programme in collaboration with the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen from the 2012/2013 winter semester onwards. Forty places are to be made available at each of the two universities.
The jury, which included Lower Saxony’s Minister-President David McAllister and the President of the Bremen Senate, Jens Böhrnsen, praised the creativity and innovative spirit of the project. In his laudatory speech, Böhrnsen also justified the decision by highlighting the far-reaching significance of the project: “By establishing a European, cross-border medical degree programme – the only one of its kind in Germany – at the universities of Oldenburg and Groningen, this project and its offerings will enrich the entire north-west region,” explained Böhrnsen, emphasising: “Young people who aspire to become doctors and help others will be able to remain in our region in future.” Furthermore, Böhrnsen added, the programme would also attract students from other parts of Germany or from abroad, thereby helping to close the gap in medical training in the north-west to some extent. “The fact that new – European – approaches are being adopted here, such as offering a Bachelor’s degree followed by a Master’s programme, is a testament to the exceptional creativity and innovative strength of our north-west region.” The “Norwest Award” from Bremer Landsbank recognises particularly exemplary projects in the north-west, with the aim of showcasing them to a wider audience.
Promotional film for theEMS Nordwest Award