The key problem for all partner countries in FOR21 Consortium is the absence of consistent communication training for future doctors.The Institute of Medicine identifies patient-centered care as one of the essential elements of high quality care. Patients assess the quality of their care largely through their experiences of talking with their physician and they go to practitioners they feel comfortable with. Physicians recognize it is important to acquire new information and technical skills as part of their professional activities, but have paid less attention to learning how to communicate effectively, particularly in challenging situations, such as helping patients make choices, disclosing errors or breaking bad news. They have also not regarded it as a skill to learn. What is needed is significant change in the early training of doctors to embed these new skills sustainably. Above all, the new approaches need to be more patient-centered.FOR21 will start the development of medical curriculum together with educational strategies, methods and tools for building communication competence and social responsibility, aimed to improve doctor-to-patient communication.New system of communication skills training will be introduced into the PC HEIs and will address needed changes in the mode and habits of communication training. Communication Development training Centres (CDCs) will be set up at Partner Universities to train academics to use innovative approaches in their teaching practices and support newly created Patient Centered Communication Skills Programme (PCCSP).PCCSP will bring PC HEIs to transition from lecture-based teaching to learning activities, such as Flipped Classroom, Standardized and Virtual Patients, ICT methods in a fully integrated training regime.Network of CDCs will consistently stimulate curricula of partner and non-partner medical HEIs, to modernise and innovate, in accord with the latest trends in communication competency development.

The BERNICA project is aimed at fostering education and research capacities of the Central Asian region in the promotion of healthy nutritional habits in order to improve the health of the population. Ten Central Asian medical universities with the support of two European Universities will build local expertise in the development and running of innovative curricula in Nutrition & Dietetics in line with Bologna principles and ENQA standards through a series of training sessions. All Partner Countries’ universities will develop different future-oriented courses/modules with innovative learning scenarios targeted for the various auditorium – undergraduate, graduate students, working medical doctors, and nurses.European partners will share their knowledge and good practice with the purpose to Increase research and innovation capacities of target universities in this field.The fulfillment of the project activities will lead to fostering regional and international networks through joint initiatives, and sharing of good practices in education, research, and practice in Nutrition & Dietetics.

The demand for medical services in Uzbekistan, is growing rapidly, so the healthcare system has turned to new and innovative technologies to improve diagnosis, monitoring and treatment. In doing so, healthcare providers must rely on medical devices and implants that work properly and are managed in a cost-effective and efficient manner by qualified Biomedical Engineers.A report on the use of the recently purchased medical equipment carried out in some hospitals, highlighted the high rate of unused devices due to the lack of proper maintenance and repair. Consequently, the Ministry urged the need to prepare professionals in this field.The main objective of I2-PLEDGE is to establish an innovative Bachelor Degree Program able to provide bioengineers endowed with those technical and professional (and soft) skills necessary to meet the today’s technological challenges in a multidisciplinary environment.The activities include• Developing a pilot professional Bachelor Degree in Biomedical Engineering, adopting new teaching methods, materials and tools and integrating work experience and internships.• Teachers training on teaching methods and curriculum design at EU universities.Three universities will introduce the new professional curriculum and 4 will updates the existing ones.In each UZ university, at least 10 teachers will be trained and at least 20 students will start the new or updated degree.Beneficiaries of the project activities are the companies providing the medical devices, the hospitals and the healthcare system in general, besides the students and the society. The main results and outputs are• Reduction of the shortage of Biomedical Engineering professionals,• Correct use and maintenance of the medical devices, • Enhanced cooperation between UZ and EU in the field of Biomedical Engineering,• Training centre for teachers and specialists also for LLL,• Establishment of the Biomedical Engineers Register,• Web platform for cooperation.

Chronic disease is the major cause of death in the partner countries, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Russia.All the partner country governments have prioritised action in relation to chronic disease. The World Health Organisation point out that there is a need to increase the capacity of health care workers in this area and has noted that training of health care staff at primary level is inadequate to deal with diabetes. To improve healthcare outcomes and reduce the economic burden of chronic disease, enhanced training at post-graduate level is necessary. There is very little or no provision in the specific area targetted by this project in the partner countries.The specific objective of the project is to support the modernisation of the curriculum by developing new and innovative courses and methodologies in health studies related to chronic disease at masters level.The key deliverables are: •conducting a study tour of EU universities; •developing the approach and requirements for the masters programme; •developing programme curricula in line with the ECTS guidelines; •developing 12 modules and short courses; •developing a staff training and mobility programme; •running three one- week competence enhancing courses in the EU; •running 32 one-week “train the trainers” courses in partner HEIs. •launching the masters programmes with further “train the trainers” courses; •conducting 3 one-month long student mobilities.The impact of the project will be felt in the health sector by having health care workers trained in the new curricula, i.e. the use of the holistic approach to patient care and public health promotion, which acts as a model for other specialists in the sector. The final beneficiaries from the project are the patients who ultimately benefit from improved health competencies and governments who can reduce the costs of treating chronic disease.

The proposed IMEP Project will address wider International Higher Education and Quality Assurance agendas and build on the IHE work done as part part of previous Tempus projects in Uzbekistan and British Council QA and IHE programmes. There are several reasons why we decided to apply for the Project:- our considerable knowledge of the situation and needs of the HE of Uzbekistan which was gained through previous Tempus QAPD Project and other projects we have completed with our partners;- urgent need to train new teachers for the HE which are specified in the Presidential Decrees and Resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Uzbekistan - please see part E1 of the Detailed description of the project for more information;- education is a national priority and the government takes steps to align the system of education with international standards, enhance the quality of teaching and learning, and equip students with the skills required by global and local markets.The Project will specifically focus on developing the following:- new approaches in CPD for academic staff and managers in the HE: running pilots in partner institutions and new programmes recommended to the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialised Education of Uzbekistan (MHSSERUZ);- establishing consistency and enhancement of standards of teaching and learning across a variety of subject areas in the HE: Economics, Business, Education Management, Tourism, Medicine, Language Teaching and Learning and many others, and presenting the analysis of standards and recommendations on the process of enhancement to the MHSSERUZ;- engagement of students in teaching and learning: Guidelines on Student Engagement;- engagement of employers in enhancement of standards, teaching and learning: Guidelines on Employer Engagement.IMEP Project will contribute to Uzbekistan - EU Dialogue in the Higher Education and make proposals to the MHSSERUZ and other public organisations dealing with the HE.