The director and assistant director of MSU’s Institute of International Health traveled to South Korea last week to visit Samsung Medical Center, a subsidiary of Samsung Corp., and to further develop educational partnerships with Korean universities.
IIH Director Reza Nassiri delivered two lectures at the Daedong University College of Nursing on the contribution of nurses to global health challenges and the role of nursing in hospital management. Nassiri also presented “The Impact of Zoonoses in Global Health” at the annual meeting of the Korean Animal Sciences Society.
Together with IIH Assistant Director Sung Soo Chung, Nassiri met with representatives from Gacheon University School of Medicine, Eulji University College of Medicine, and Korean University College of Medicine to discuss IIH’s summer training programs and global health training programs for health professionals.
Nassiri and Chung also met with representatives from Samsung Medical Center in Seoul to explore a partnership between IIH and Samsung for global health governance and capacity-building for underserved countries. During this meeting, IIH and Samsung discussed ways to leverage each other’s expertise and resources to address global health challenges. Samsung also agreed to receive a concept note from IIH about possibly establishing a future endowment.
“Korea is a key partner for IIH and MSU because of the large number of alumni there, most of whom work for the government and the private sector,” said Nassiri. “Also, there are similarities between the philosophy of the American model of osteopathic medicine and Korean Oriental Medicine, and Korea offers a wide range of resources on international development and project research.”