“Colombia”, “Chile”, “Germany”, “France”, “Russia”, “Indonesia”. This is how the sixth edition of FMUSP Winter Schools 2022 began, an event from Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (FMUSP) that brings together students from different countries and institutions in a two-week program, providing them with multiple academic activities on medicine related topics.

The inaugural ceremony took place today, July 18, 2022, at 9:30 am, in the Congregation Room of the Faculty 's Main Building. To welcome the students and introduce them to FMUSP, were present: Prof. Aluisio Augusto Cotrim Segurado, Dean of Graduation at USP, Prof. Sérgio Persival Baroncini Proença, President of the USP Agency for National and International Academic Cooperation, Prof. Roger Chammas, Vice-Director of FMUSP, Prof. Valeria Aoki, President of the FMUSP International Relations Commission, Prof. Iolanda de Fátima Lopes Calvo Tibério, representative, at the time, of the FMUSP Graduation Commission and Prof. Carlos Vicente Serrano Jr, Vice-President of the FMUSP Culture and University Extension Commission.

Prof. Roger Chammas began the addresses by thanking everyone for their presence, congratulating the event’s organization and welcoming the international undergraduates who filled the room’s auditorium. The same sentiment was echoed by Prof. Valeria Aoki, who gave a brief presentation on the history of FMUSP and highlighted: “We are a hands-on teaching institution, what is learned here is done so with patients, because we are the largest health complex in Latin America”. Next, the institutional video of the Faculdade de Medicina was played.

Then it was the student’s turn to introduce themselves, led by the coordinating professors in the area of ​​each course offered by Winter Schools: Dermatology, Psychiatry, Surgery, Gynecology and Obstetrics, Pediatrics, Cardiology, Rehabilitation, Tropical Medicine and Geriatrics. One by one the students stood up, introducing themselves to the others with their name, country of origin, institution they represent, and a brief message. The presentations had the same core: great satisfaction for participating in the event and the desire to make the most of this opportunity promoted by FMUSP.

"Our academic team is extremely happy with the return of this program, this has been a very successful initiative that we’ve had for five years. The pandemic has shown us that health problems are global challenges. As medical educators, we have the task not only of providing high-level technical and practical knowledge, but also of imparting a global mindset on you. I encourage you to make the most of this multicultural experience, not only deepening your medical knowledge, but also your interactions with colleagues, and seizing the chance to get to know our health system and our society”, declared Prof. Aluisio Segurado.

2022 is a special year because it marks the return of Winter Schools to FMUSP after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Promoting an opportunity for people from all over the world to share interests and knowledge in the most diverse medical areas, in addition to integrating the knowledge of FMUSP with that of other renowned international institutions, the event will run until July 29th.