This project brought together 3 European universities and 6 universities from CIS countries:

- Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece) 

- University of Leeds (UK) 

- University of Oulu (Finland), 

- I.I. Mechnikov Northwestern State Medical University (St. Petersburg)

- Tyumen State Medical University (Tyumen)

- NCJSC "Kazakh National Medical University named after S.D. Asfendiarova (Almaty)

 - NCJSC "Karaganda Medical University (Karaganda)

 - Samarkand State Medical Institute (Samarkand)

 - Tashkent Medical Academy

The grantor of this project is the University of Aristotle in Thessaloniki (AUTH), the leading university of Southern Europe. AUTH focuses on the study of changing paradigms in education and advanced technologies for introducing new and innovative methods of learning in medical education, the university has a successful long-term experience of participating in international projects, including Erasmus. As a grantor, the University of Aristotle will contribute by offering its expertise in the development of communication competence and social responsibility to improve physician-patient communication and establish a network of centers of excellence for: 

a) to encourage the medical training programmes of partners,

b) upgrading and introducing new technologies in communication training.

The Project is coordinated by medical education leaders - Professor Panagiotis Bamidis (Greece) and Professor Terry Poulton (UK), who have ten years of leadership experience in national and international grants.

The main goal of the FOR21 Project is to promote the development of educational strategies and training programs to build communication competencies and social responsibility aimed at improving physician-patient communication. The International consortium will enable the implementation of advanced training methods for the qualitative development of communication skills of medical university students.

The FOR21 Project will establish Centres for the development of communication competence in partner countries to support and develop the best international practice, as well as develop patient-centered communication skills training programmes. Over the course of three years, the consortium will establish a clinical scenario bank to apply "virtual" and "standardized patients" to train medical students in effective communication skills with patients in a safe and secure environment to prepare their real clinical practice.

You can follow the results of the Project on the website of NCJSC “KMU”: http://erasmus.kgmu.kz/?page_id=1470