SWEDISH SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK

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Biomedical Laboratory Science Programme, Karolinska Institutet Medical University, Stockholm

Postal address: Utbildningsprogrammet för Biomedicinska analytiker inriktning fysiologi, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
Visiting address: C1 88, Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset Huddinge
Fax: +46 (0)8 774 80 82
Web page: http://courses.ki.se/utbildningsprogram/Biomedicinanalytiker/Biomedicinanalytikerfys/startsida

Contact person: Director of Studies Fredrik Brolund , phone +46 (0)8 5858 1713

Since 2008, the Biomedical Laboratory Science Programme at Karolinska Institutet (KI) is involved in a Linnaeus Palme Exchange Programme regarding an exchange of teachers and students with Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Science (RGUHS) in Bangalore, India. Fredrik Brolund made a contact journey to Bangalore in 2008. The contact person on the Indian side is Dr Satish Govind. The focus on the exchange programme with RGUHS is Clinical training, where Swedish students get a chance to experience a wide panorama of Indian health care. Telemedicine is another focus area.
Via an Indian cardiologist who previously worked at KI but now has moved back to Bangalore, it has besome possible to establish a research collaboration as a spin-off effect of the exchange programme.

However, contacts have also been established between the Biomedical Laboratory Science Programme, and the Christian Medical College (CMC) in Vellore, Tamil Nadu. This is a medical university that already has several collaboration agreements with other departments within KI, as well as with other Swedish universities such as Uppsala University and Örebro University.
A telecommunication link has been set up to make it possible to share lectures between KI and CMC. The contact persons at CMC are primarily Dr Asha Mary and Dr Nihal Thomas, but contacts have been established with 5-6 clinical departments. There is a large interest at CMC to send both students and teachers within the field of Biomedical Laboratory Science to Stockholm.
A new collaboration agreement has been planned for. It includes clinical training for Swedish students at both CMC in Vellore, and RGUHS in Bangalore. Two teachers from CMC will come to KI in Stockholm to teach during the Spring semester 2010. Finally, the telemedicine project with lectures, discussions etc. via tele links will be further developed, and also introduced to other programmes at KI.