On 7-9 June this year, the Summer School of the Baltic Sea Region Network in Personalised Healthcare (BSRN) took place at the Faculty of Medicine at Vilnius University (VU MF). This is the seventh Summer School, but the first to be organized in Lithuania. It brings together PhD students from universities in the Baltic Sea Region and Europe who are conducting research in health sciences. This year, it was attended by PhD students from Finland, Lithuania, Germany, Estonia and Denmark, and the chosen topic considered how research can impact policy decisions in the health and social services sectors. The PhD students presented their research, listened to presentations and took part in various workshops.
The BSRN summer school participants / © MF archive
The BSRN Summer School was established in 2015 and is currently hosted by the University of Turku, Finland. As of today, the following countries and universities have joined the BSRN – Denmark (University of Southern Denmark), Sweden (Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm), Norway (West Norwegian University of Applied Sciences in Bergen), Lithuania (Vilnius University and Klaipėda University), Latvia (Riga Stradiņš University), Estonia (University of Tartu), Poland (Gdansk University of Medical Sciences), Germany (University of Lübeck), and Finland (Turku University). BSRN aims to offer structured interdisciplinary training to PhD students in the health sciences in cooperation with the Baltic Sea Region, and is expected to make a significant contribution to the improvement of scientific standards in health and nursing research.
Since 2016, six BSRN Summer Schools have been held in the following countries: Denmark, Germany, Finland, Latvia, Estonia and Norway. According to Dr. Hannkaisa Niela-Vilen, Associate Professor at the Department of Nursing Sciences at the University of Turku and also one of the BSRN board members and curators, the real value of the event, no matter in which country it is organised, lies in the gathering of young researchers from across the Baltic Sea Region and Europe, sharing ideas and discoveries, and promoting innovation not only in science, but also in the political field in line with this year's topics and issues. “This Summer School was a great opportunity to meet other PhD students, to network, share experiences, and of course, learn more about this year’s topic, reflecting on how my individual research could contribute to influencing policy decisions in the field of health. I feel inspired, and I have new ideas for my dissertation!” explained Elina Linnavuori, a PhD student at the Department of Nursing Sciences at the University of Turku, as she shared her impressions of the summer school.
Prof. Natalya Istomina, chair of this year’s BSRN Summer School Organising Committee, welcomed Vilnius University’s leadership in organising international scientific events in Lithuania and the Baltics: “We are happy that top-level health and nursing scientists choose Vilnius University as an equal partner.” This is the third high-level summer school organised and held in Lithuania. In 2019, the ICONS (International Collaboration of Nurse Scholars) Summer School was held with PhD students and professors from China, Finland, Brazil, Greece, Canada, Australia, Spain and the USA, and in 2022, the EANS (European Academy of Nursing Science) Summer School was held with PhD students, professors and other scholars from 27 European countries.
The BSRN summer school participants / © MF archive