The Medical School of the University of Pécs (UPMS) and the Migration Research Institute (MRI), that has been established by the Századvég Foundation and the Mathias Corvinus Collegium, has signed a cooperation agreement on the 9th of September 2016. The two institutes will partake in joint research projects and launch educational programs to better understand the challenges and risks caused by the migrant crisis in the framework of the cooperation agreement.
Migration is the largest challenge Hungary and Europe will face in the long run, understanding and coping with its consequences is of great significance for the whole continent. High quality research and teaching practice is crucial to reach this and the cooperation agreement between UPMS and MRI may serve this purpose. The dean of UPMS, Professor Attila Miseta has outlined that the medical faculty has a decade long history in the field of migration health research and education. The University of Pécs has led the international higher educational consortium that has developed an educational program - a program that is demanded throughout the whole of Europe - for professionals in migration health that will be launched jointly with the Austrian Danube University Krems in the near future. The migration health research team of the faculty is a significant partner of the World Health Organization concerning the research of health problems and public health challenges related to migration. The researchers in Pécs play a key role in a very important field as migration health is a focal point of the meeting organized by the Regional Office for Europe of the World Health Organization that will start on 13 September 2016 with the motto “There is no public health without refugee and migrant health”.
Dr Balazs Orban, the head director of the MRI, highlighted during the meeting that their main goal is to examine all aspects of migration starting from the viewpoint of law, security policy through sociology to health on a high level and to form public speech based on the results. The joint work is very important and fulfills a shortcoming according to Balazs Orban as the public is the less informed about the health aspects of migration. Dr Istvan Szilard, the leader of the Migration Health Chair of UPMS, added that the complex acquaintance with the processes of migration is vital for public health employees as migration health is such a multidisciplinary field where beside the factual health knowledge socia
l and cultural competences are crucial as well.
Dr Balazs Orban and Dr Istvan Szilard has pinpointed several fields of cooperation for the future. One of the joint plans is to write a comprehensive study about the health aspects of migration in a common language with the collaboration of researchers from the two institutes and beside that to harmonize their educational programs.