New updates from Lublin!

1) The academic community of Lublin, together against COVID-19

On the initiative of the Lublin Union of Universities (Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, University of Life Sciences, Lublin University of Technology, Medical University) and the Lublin Voivode, with the participation of the Mayor of Lublin City, Public Transport Authority, Municipal Transport Company in Lublin and the II Lublin Territorial Defense Brigade, action will be carried out "Vaccination stop."

The academic community of Lublin, together with local and provincial authorities, in solidarity and care for mutual security, on 27th September of this year., Have signed a cooperation agreement to support vaccination against COVID-19. As part of the initiative, on 30th September and on 1st and 4th October of this year between 9.00-16.00, in the vaccination bus located in front of the Medical Simulation Center of the Medical University of Lublin (4 Chodźki Street), vaccinations will be held for students and employees of Lublin universities, their families, as well as for all residents of Lublin interested in vaccination.

During the campaign, Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacyjne (MPK) will provide a dedicated bus that will cover a unique route located at Lublin universities. The route will run in a loop, starting from the Felin area, through the university campus, and ending at the "Vaccination stop" located at the Medical University. Additionally, a special helpline will be launched, where the number (81) 466 34 34 ext. 4, where people with disabilities will be able to order transport by a special bus that will take them to the vaccination bus, i.e. to 4 Chodźki Street in Lublin. Transport provided by MPK Lublin will be equipped with an air disinfection system, and the journey will be free of charge for all people intending to get vaccinated.

We would also like to add that as part of cooperation with the Public Transport Authority, the spots of the # SzczepimySię campaign will be displayed on the LCD monitors on public transport buses, and posters promoting the initiative in various language versions will be posted.

The campaign is aimed at students of all universities in Lublin, academic teachers, adult school students, residents of Lublin and foreigners staying in our city.

People participating in the campaign will receive preparation from Pfizer-BioNTech or Johnson & Johnson.

All formalities, i.e. completing the personal questionnaire and qualification for vaccination - will be carried out on the spot at the Medical Simulation Centre. The II Lublin Territorial Defense Brigade will organizationally support the entire undertaking. Each participant of the action after vaccination will receive a "surprise" gift signed by the organizers.

The action is organized given the developing fourth wave of the coronavirus epidemic and aims to mobilize Lublin's academic community to vaccinate. Lubelskie Voivodeship is in the group of administrative units with the lowest level of vaccination of inhabitants. The return to the traditional form of academic functioning of the city, universities, institutions, labour market, services, culture, sports, etc., requires stabilizing the epidemic situation in the country and the region. We want our academic centre to be vibrant and developing again. For this to happen, we must show responsibility for our own and our relatives' health, but also solidarity and care for the health of our colleagues and friends. Getting vaccinated is not only protection against a severe course of the disease if we fall ill, but also a greater level of safety for our parents, grandparents, children and friends.

 

2) The internationalisation of Lublin universities is one of the priority development goals of Lublin academic society. The presence of foreign scientists at Lublin universities is a significant factor contributing to establishing the prestige of local universities and the city. The City of Lublin has created Visiting Professors in Lublin Program whose goal is to support local universities and institutes for research and development, which invite outstanding personalities of science and business to contribute to internationalisation of Lublin academic society, incl.: scientific research and promotion of science among the inhabitants of Lublin.
Lublin universities and research and scientific institutes located in Lublin can participate in the Program and get financial, promotional, and stuff support from 5 000 to 50 000 zloty gross!
The applications for support in the pilot edition of the Program will be accepted from October 1, 2021 to November 15, 2021 for the visits taking place from January 1, 2022 to December 10, 2022.

Visiting Professors in Lublin Program is arranged by Lublin Municipal Office and inspired by Research in Lublin – a special program established by Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, whose goal is to increase the number of foreign scientists at the university. The main aims of the Visiting Professors in Lublin Program are:

·         presenting Lublin as a scientific city,

·         strengthening international research cooperation,

·         supporting the development of the educational potential,

·         creating international contacts with research centres from around the world by Lublin universities and research and scientific institutes.

 

3) ESASO Training Center, one of three in the world, will soon start in Lublin

The European School for Advanced Studies in Ophthalmology (ESASO) in Lugano, Switzerland, is an international center of education for ophthalmology specialists. Doctors from all over the world gain practical knowledge about the latest technologies used in surgical operations on the retina and other eye diseases. A twin ESASO Academy, with the same profile, will start next month in Lublin. It will be the second such center in Europe and the third in the world, which is located in Singapore.

Several years ago the ESASO research and training center was established in Lublin on the initiative of Professor Robert Rejdak, head of the Department of General Ophthalmology at the Medical University of Lublin, who for several years has been associated with the European School of Advanced Ophthalmological Studies in Lugano, Switzerland. As a director of practical training of doctors in eye surgery he has educated hundreds of ophthalmologists from all over the world in Switzerland and Poland.

Many years of contacts between the Medical University of Lublin and the Swiss center led to the conclusion of an agreement on October 2, 2020 between Prof. Giuseppe Guarnaccia, ESASO global director and Prof. Wojciech Załuska, rector of the Medical University of Lublin on the establishment of the ESASO Academy in the Medical Simulation Center in Lublin.

Before the ESASO research and training center was established in Lublin, Polish ophthalmologists underwent specialist training in eye surgery in Lugano. After its establishment they will undergo the same training at the Medical University Medical Simulation Center, where the Lublin center is located.

The Lublin ESASO Academy was scheduled to begin operations in spring 2021, but a pandemic has thwarted those plans.  COVID- 19 partially halted previous scientific exchange and training initiatives. Most training was done online using digital techniques. It is difficult to predict how long the pandemic will remain with us, but the Academy will officially open in mid-October with regular activities.

The strategy of the European School of Advanced Ophthalmological Studies also assumes the participation in the cycle of training of ophthalmologists from neighboring countries, including Belarus, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, as well as Georgia, Romania and other countries. In the Lublin center they will have the opportunity to acquire skills in cataract surgery, glaucoma, cornea, retinal diseases, as well as to perform plastic surgeries such as eyelid or facial surgery.

ESASO in Lublin will strengthen the European Center for Macular Diseases and support the conduct of innovative diagnostic and clinical research and gene therapies.