This is the first international branch of a Baltic national university in the field of medical studies.
“RSU is the flagship of higher education export not only in Latvia, but also in Northern Europe. The number of international students at our university is growing every year, and the second largest group are students from Germany who come here to study medicine and dentistry. It is no secret that most of them return to their home countries after their studies. We want them not only to have excellent theoretical and practical knowledge when they enter the job market, but also to have mastered the specifics of their country’s healthcare system. By opening this branch, we are sending a clear message to current and potential international students that Latvia, and RSU, is the right place to get a high-quality and competitive higher education,” said RSU Rector Prof. Aigars Pētersons.
The collaboration with Elbe Kliniken Stade (EKS) began four years ago. Since 2022, five groups of students, a total of 46, have travelled there to acquire new knowledge and skills as part of a pilot project. This year, 26 students are starting their studies at the RSU branch in Stade. The establishment of the RSU branch in Stade will not only provide placement opportunities, but will also ensure clinical studies at the hospital.
The RSU Stade Branch will implement the Medicine programme in English accredited by RSU. The strategic objectives of the branch are to implement the study process mainly for students from Germany or with German language skills at a C1 level, as well as to offer new opportunities for research and the modernisation of study programmes by integrating the best experiences of the University’s West European partners. In September, 19 lecturers from Stade will start working in the new branch, with at least 10 more to join by the end of the semester.
“The collaboration with RSU is a far-sighted project that will strengthen regional healthcare in the long term. We are facing a shortage of doctors in the region due to a national lack of young talent. The number of available places at medical school is too low to meet demand. In addition, there are demographic changes that also affect hospitals. The collaboration with RSU will address both of these issues. In this way, we hope to attract future doctors who will be able to support outpatient and inpatient care in the region after completing their studies. I am proud of this collaboration and look forward to the positive development it will bring,” said Siegfried Ristau, CEO of Elbe Kliniken Stade.
In recent years, RSU has been actively expanding its collaboration with universities and clinics abroad. RSU has already developed an extensive network of clinical sites abroad to facilitate student and faculty mobility – eight clinical study centres have been established in Germany and six other countries to provide students with hands-on training. They are now joined by the University’s first branch, which will also offer a full study course.
There are currently around 690 German students studying at RSU, representing 21% of all international students. RSU is able to ensure that 99% of German students complete a placement in their home country. In total, RSU has placed German students at 107 hospitals and healthcare institutions across Germany.
RSU has an interesting in-depth interview on the Latvian-German partnership here.
