The man from Mongolia
Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:17:00 BST
Mongolian visit prepares the way for a research and study link
Dr Battur Lkhagvaa (left) of Mongolia’s Ach Medical Institute meets the University of Huddersfield's Dr Rob Burton
LINKS are to be forged between the University of Huddersfield’s School of Human and Health Sciences and one of the largest medical teaching establishments in Mongolia.
Shared research projects, potential teacher and student exchanges are among the possible outcomes of a partnership that came closer when Associate Professor, Dr Battur Lkhagvaa, Dean of Mongolia’s Ach Medical Institute paid a visit to the University of Huddersfield.
Dr Lkhagvaa met the Dean of Human and Health Sciences, Sue Bernhauser and his host on the campus was Dr Rob Burton, who is the School’s Head of International Business.
He explained that the connection arose through Andrew Spink, a Yorkshire-based nurse who was spending a year in Mongolia working with Voluntary Service Overseas, providing assistance with health professional education. It was he who recommended collaboration between the University and the Ach Medical Institute and now a Memorandum of Understanding will be drawn up.
The Mongolian link will be the latest in a sequence of overseas connections for the School of Human and Health Sciences, said Dr Burton. Already in place are agreements with partners in Nigeria and Malaysia.
The education of health professionals and speciality practice areas such as the treatment of diabetes and long-term conditions are likely to be the focus of the Mongolian partnership. And the University of Huddersfield will gain from sharing of insights into different cultural backgrounds and teaching methods.
Dr Lkhagvaa, who studied in both his native Mongolia and in Japan, has a background speciality in the treatment of asthma and allergies but also developed an interest in medical education.
Now he is the Dean of the Medical Education Unit at the Ach Institute, which has 2,000 students and is based in the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar.
The Institute covers the full range of medical disciplines – including traditional techniques such as acupuncture and herbal medicine.
“I was very excited to come to Huddersfield,” said Dr Lkhagvaa, who was impressed by the facilities he encountered, such as high-tech simulation wards which enable student nurses to develop their practice safely.
