International Cooperation

The development of international cooperation is one of the top strategic priorities for the Faculty of Medicine in Monastir. As a result, a vice-deanship has been dedicated to it, with the main mission of promoting cooperation, partnerships, and internationalization. This vice-deanship closely collaborates with the vice-presidency of the University of Monastir responsible for this area, as well as with the Ministries of Health and Higher Education and Scientific Research.

Within this framework, the Faculty of Medicine in Monastir has defined strategic axes to be developed and promoted:

1. Capacity building for students, faculty, and staff through mobility programs.
2. Development of partnerships and global openness.
3. Promotion of exchange programs and service provision.

Capacity Building

• Outgoing Student Mobility

The Faculty encourages its students to benefit from mobility programs to enhance their capacities and improve their skills. It provides administrative support and follows a fair procedure. For example, the Associamed at the FMM welcomes around fifteen foreign students each year, while approximately the same number of our students go to other faculties. The validation of these internships is based on predefined objectives.

• Faculty Mobility:

Applications from faculty members for subsidized training programs abroad, supported by the Ministry of Health, are reviewed, ranked, and validated by the Scientific Council. Alongside clinical development programs, the faculty also subsidizes training programs in specific areas it aims to develop, such as Family Medicine. Faculty mobility for research collaborations between laboratories follows a validation process involving the research structure director, the dean, and the university president. Mobility of faculty members to Middle Eastern countries as part of technical cooperation is increasingly important.

• Administrative Staff Mobility:

Administrative staff members are encouraged to participate in international training programs, which can be organized under ERASMUS projects governed by the University of Monastir or other initiatives.

Development of Partnerships and Global Outreach

• Research Partnerships:

The research laboratories of the Faculty are encouraged to apply for projects under bilateral and multilateral research and innovation programs, including Federated Research Projects (FRP), Horizon 2020 Projects, Euro-Mediterranean projects, and PHC Utique.

• Mobility Cooperation Agreements:

Partnerships are established between the Faculty of Medicine and foreign institutions to regulate student and faculty mobility. This can be done through student associations affiliated with the faculty, such as the Associamed, which is a student-led NGO founded in 1989 and a member of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA).

• Cooperation Projects for On-site Training:

The FMM supports and approves cooperation projects that aim to develop priority healthcare areas through on-site training. These partnerships involve hospitals and are under the supervision of the Ministry of Health, benefiting residents and supervisors. For example, the cooperation between the Monastir University Hospital (CHU) and Necker Hospital in Paris for pediatric liver transplantation, as well as the burn care project between the Monastir CHU and Hanover Hospital.

• Framework Cooperation Agreements:

The Faculty seeks to increase the number and nationalities of its partners and submits proposals for framework cooperation agreements to the University of Monastir and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research for study and approval.