Embracing the diversity in a multicultural city of Romania

(Unsplash, 2019)

This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Mr. Iuliu Gabriel Cocuz and Ms. Dalia Lavinia Dreptate, two medicine students from the University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology of Tîrgu Mures. They both  are affiliated to the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writers and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on the topic, nor The European Sting’s one.

Diversity through culture. Internationalization. Overcoming the cultural barriers. Having these concepts in mind, we can open new perspectives in the eyes of the students becoming doctors or pharmacists.

In the times when the physical borders are dissolving, the University of Medicine,
Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology understood that the process of internationalization does not lead to the loss of identity, but, on the contrary, it represents one of the key points of success. Tîrgu Mureș, a city in the heart of Transylvania where the time seemed to be more patient, hosts the only university in Romania in the medical and pharmaceutical field where the teaching is provided in, besides Romanian, Hungarian and English too, and therefore opens its gates for students from all over the country and beyond its borders, as well.

The diversity can be easily observed as you enter the campus, once you stop by for a few
moments and you take time to listen to all of the languages spoken by the students eager for knowledge, united by one and only purpose – to become part of the next generation of doctors or pharmacists.

As leaders of the students’ representative organization in the university, The Students’
League of Tîrgu Mureș, we have witnessed that this form of education has brought, especially in the past years, a great will of collaboration between the students of all three sections, this being driven by the faith that the cultural enclosure can be destroyed. A first step in the attempt of overcoming this has been made through activities such as “international dinners”, which serve the cause of creating a bridge between cultures and of minimizing the culture shock phenomenon. The culture shock represents a personal disorientation that one can experience when being part of an unfamiliar way of life, in this case, due to migration in educational purposes. Therefore, we consider of great importance to encourage the students to be part of the activities that we organize all year round, with the great support from the university, whether there are humanitarian ones or activities dedicated to the community. We were thrilled to observe that the students are interested in these and this reciprocity assures us that common purposes can really bring people together.

The integration in the university domain is facile, but the medical and pharmaceutical
educational system has to take in consideration the integration of the future graduates in the society, too. Fortunately, Tîrgu Mureș represents the ideal environment for this, as it is itself the proof of peacefully and fructuous cohabitation of citizens who come from different cultures and, therefore, the medical practice in the hospital has nothing to suffer from the linguistic barrier.

In conclusion, we strongly believe that our actions should be based on the belief that we
do not belong solely to the environment we were born in, but that we are citizens of the universe and that by sharing even only an idea, we are able to make a difference in the society.

About the authors

Iuliu Gabriel Cocuz and Dalia Lavinia Dreptate are two medicine students from the University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology of Tîrgu Mures. Iuliu is in the 6th year of study and Dalia in the 5 th year. Both of them are members of the Students League of Tîrgu Mures, the representative student organization in the university mentioned above. Iuliu has been president of the organization two years ago and Dalia is president for 2018/2019 term. Our organization is member of our NMO – FASMR in which Iuliu is the Financial Vice-president, NMO which is member of IFMSA.

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