The LUMC welcomes as many as three different delegations in Leiden

The final week of September 2022 marked a very special week as the LUMC had the honour of welcoming not one, not two, but three different delegations to the academic hospital. Spearheaded by the LUMC Global team, we welcomed delegates from Indonesia, Malaysia and the United States of America to discuss possibilities for international collaboration.

We kicked off a highly interesting week on Monday the 26^th with delegates from Airlangga University, Indonesia. Having already set up multiple viable collaborations with Indonesia, the LUMC sought out to discover even more opportunities for collaborations in Indonesia with prominent university and hospital Airlangga. After a plenary introduction of both institutions, the morning continued with visits to different departments, focusing on different disciplines, namely: Infectious Diseaseas, Gynaecology and Orthopedics. LUMC researchers presented their work and further discussed opportunities for collaboration with their Indonesian peers. The meeting ended with a lunch at the faculty club of Leiden University.

Then, on Wednesday the 28^th, we had the pleasure of welcoming a delegation from San Diego, USA. The delegation was comprised of different organisations working in the Life Sciences and Health sector on ground breaking innovations, research and education, such as UC San Diego and the San Diego State University. After having the pleasure of sharing ideas in the morning, the delegation received a ‘tour’ on the Leiden Bio Science Park to see the top-notch biomedical hub in Leiden and in what areas we are bringing about global impact.

Last, but definitely not least, was the visit of the Malaysian delegation from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), a visit that marked one of the highlights of the week, namely that of the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between LUMC’s National eHealth Living Lab (NeLL) and UiTM. For LUMC Global, the formalization of the collaboration was an honour to be a part of and a testament to why we do what we do: only together can we truly have an impact on global health challenges and solve tomorrow’s problems. The rapid development of UiTM perfectly fits with the innovative nature of NeLL’s work. Together, they will work on innovations in eHealth to benefit patients from all over the world.

Thanks to all for a truly inspiring, fruitful and positive week. At LUMC Global, we aim to set up even more collaborations and urge anyone to get in touch!