Press text

Hameln, 7. October 2013

Unrestricted Mobility During Medical Study

The Merits of the Bologna Process.

A complete and uncomplicated recognition of an acquired medical degree from abroad or an unproblematic change back to a German university, after at least a year of medical studies in a foreign country, is the greatest desire of a medical student. Such ideal conditions for studying in Europe have, thanks to the Bologna process, become reality.

Everything began on June 19th 1999 in the Italian university town Bologna with signing the, so called, “Bologna-Declaration” by 29 European states. The aim of it was, to create a European Higher Education Area with uniform standards. Nowadays 47 states – from Iceland to Kazakhstan – are part of the Bologna process. The consequences of the Bologna-Declaration have profound effects in modification of the national higher education system, which allows students a greater accessibility. The member states of the Bologna process made it their business, within ten years – from 2000 to 2010 – to ensure an inner-European comparability and recognition of course credits, based on uniform quality criteria. Europe was supposed to develop into a unified economic zone and should grant medical students, among others, an unrestricted mobility during studies.

The core goals of the Bologna-Reform are initially the generation of internationally identical guidelines and standards, regarding the structure of the studies (Bachelor / Master), which ensures the equivalence of acquired credits and degrees. Furthermore the quality assurance and the transparency-tools, for example the introduction of the ECTS-credits in all medical courses of study, represent further priorities. The ultimate ambition is, to ensure an unrestricted mobility of the students and graduates. Thus they can move around within the countries of the European Higher Education Area, during and after their medical training, without obstacles concerning university-law and performance-regarding.

Additionally, an intensive cooperation between the universities of the European Higher Education Area, has resulted in a standardization of medicine studies curricula and has led to numerous, transnational training and research programs. The ensured Bologna-Conformity of medical university degrees, together with a variety of successful changes of universities, within the European Higher Education Area, show the merits of the Bologna process, which has essentially reformed the higher education system.

To sum up, it can be said, that meanwhile the theoretical basics of the Bologna-Reform have almost fully become reality of medical majors. Through the recognition of credits within the European Higher Education Area, a barrier-free medical training is guaranteed and a place of study change is being promoted. Ultimately, the wide academic reform of the Bologna process depicts an answer to the changes in life and work world of the current and next generation.