Collaborative online international learning (COIL) with the Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, Thailand

　Shinshu University School of Medicine has started collaborative online international learning (COIL) in "Introduction to Medicine I", as a new initiative within a regular class framework for further internationalization.
　This educational program is organized by Dr. TANAKA Naoki, Professor of International Relations, and it targets at all first-year medical students of the School.
　All 120 students are divided into 3 large groups and then work in smaller groups of 6-7 members. Each small group consists of medical students at Shinshu and its' partner universities, and they will deepen their expertise in various health systems and cultures through COIL.
　On November 8 and 15, 2021, 80 Shinshu medical students and 16 Mahidol University medical students (1st year) held their first online session and talked about "Changes in university life by the COVID-19 pandemic". Especially, the groups focused on "Improving online well-being", "Academic engagement", and "Student bonding activities" at Shinshu and Mahidol universities and summarized their learning. As the session goes, students talked about cultures and daily life in both countries and enjoyed online communication in English in a friendly atmosphere.
　At the following session on November 22 and 29, all 12 groups gave presentations to all first-year medical students at Shinshu U, and both Shinshu and Mahidol medical students deepened their understanding of the impacts of the Pandemic.
　Shinshu University School of Medicine conducts COIL, expecting all of our medical students to enjoy interacting with overseas medical students and expand their horizons. We pursue international medical education that all medical students at our school will participate in.

Prof. TANAKA Naoki (Shinshu University)
Mr. Puwit Wantayakun (Mahidol University)


Voices of participating students

◆ It was very fun to communicate with you, and I was surprised at your fluent English! I'll try hard to improve my English skills! Thank you very much!!
◆ It's not often that I have the opportunity to interact with Thai students, so it was a very valuable experience.
◆ It was refreshing to see that even in the same Asian region, there were many differences in terms of university curriculum and English proficiency. I envy the high level of English ability of the Thai people.
◆ Thanks for the good time！ It was nice to learn more about Thailand and your school
◆ Thank you for talking with us! For my poor English skill, we might have difficulty to understand what is talked. However, I think that I had a good time. I now want to know more about your culture. If we get a chance, let's see you. I hope you're well.