Report on International Medical Exchange Program and its Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals

Executive Summary

This report details a new student exchange program between the Carle Illinois College of Medicine (CI MED) and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) in Taiwan. The initiative facilitates global collaboration among future physicians and engineers, with projects directly contributing to several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

Fostering Global Partnerships for Sustainable Development (SDG 17)

Collaborative Framework

The program is founded on a reciprocal partnership, a key tenet of SDG 17, which promotes global collaboration for sustainable development. The exchange involved:

• Five CI MED students conducting international health research at NYCU’s Taipei campus.
• Five NYCU medical students undertaking internships at CI MED’s Jump Simulation Center.

This initiative is part of the Global Consortium for Innovation and Engineering in Medicine (GCIEM), led by CI MED, which serves as a platform for building effective international partnerships to address global challenges in health and technology.

Advancing Health, Well-being, and Innovation (SDG 3 & SDG 9)

Innovations in Medical Technology and Infrastructure (SDG 9)

In alignment with SDG 9, which encourages innovation and resilient infrastructure, the exchange program focused heavily on developing advanced medical technologies. Visiting NYCU students, along with University of Illinois interns, leveraged the state-of-the-art JUMP Simulation Center to:

• Develop new extended reality (XR) based assets and interactions for medical simulations.
• Create a virtual patient simulation with AI-based dialogue, offering more realistic training for respiratory diagnosis than traditional manikins.
• Design virtual assets for integration into a VR simulation for lumbar puncture training.

Targeted Health Research for Well-being (SDG 3)

The program directly supports SDG 3 by advancing medical research aimed at improving health outcomes and reducing mortality from non-communicable diseases. A key research project focused on:

• Developing a deep-learning algorithm to automatically identify reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) from magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) scans.
• The project’s success relied on the international partnership, which provided access to a large patient MRA database from Taiwan, combined with RCVS diagnostic expertise from the United States, accelerating discovery to prevent ischemic strokes.

Enhancing Quality Education and Reducing Inequalities (SDG 4 & SDG 10)

Immersive Educational Experiences (SDG 4)

The exchange is a component of CI MED’s “Discovery Learning” course, which provides inclusive and equitable quality education as outlined in SDG 4. The program challenges students with immersive, first-hand learning experiences through:

1. Global research and clinical opportunities.
2. Deep dives into engineering, service, and medical education topics.
3. Of 55 students in the course, eight pursued international experiences, demonstrating a commitment to global education.

Addressing Health Disparities (SDG 10)

A core objective of the program is to reduce inequalities, directly aligning with SDG 10. This was exemplified by a student’s service with VnHOPE, a medical mission dedicated to serving under-resourced rural communities in Vietnam. The mission addressed health disparities by providing:

• Free dental and optometric care.
• Pap smears and necessary medications.
• Primary care, pediatrics, and pain management services for communities with limited access to healthcare.

Analysis of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
2. SDG 4: Quality Education
3. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
4. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

   • Target 3.4: By 2030, reduce by one-third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.
     
     Explanation: The article mentions a research project focused on developing a system to automatically identify reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS), which “may lead to ischemic stroke if missed.” This research directly contributes to the prevention and treatment of strokes, a major non-communicable disease.
   • Target 3.8: Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all.
     
     Explanation: The article describes a student volunteering with VnHOPE, a medical mission that “provides free dental and optometric care, reading glasses, pap smears, and medications for under-resourced communities in Vietnam.” This directly addresses providing access to essential healthcare services for communities that rely on such missions.
   • Target 3.c: Substantially increase health financing and the recruitment, development, training and retention of the health workforce in developing countries, especially in least developed countries and small island developing States.
     
     Explanation: The entire exchange program is centered on advancing the training of the “next generation of physicians.” The development of advanced VR simulations for medical training and the immersive clinical experiences in different countries (USA, Taiwan, Vietnam, Guatemala) contribute to the development and training of a global health workforce.

2. SDG 4: Quality Education

   • Target 4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.
     
     Explanation: The exchange program allows medical students to gain advanced skills. The article states that students “developed new extended reality-based assets and interactions for medical simulations” and leveraged backgrounds in “computer science, data science, and engineering.” This provides them with highly relevant technical skills for modern medicine.
   • Target 4.7: By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development… global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity…
     
     Explanation: The program is designed to “expand their horizons, promote international understanding, and advance their careers.” A stated goal is to “empower the next generation of physicians — both here and abroad — to better understand one another,” which directly fosters global citizenship and cultural appreciation.
   • Target 4.b: By 2020, substantially expand globally the number of scholarships available to developing countries… for enrolment in higher education, including vocational training and information and communications technology, technical, engineering and scientific programmes…
     
     Explanation: The student exchange program between the US and Taiwan, as part of the “Global Consortium for Innovation and Engineering in Medicine,” functions as a specialized opportunity for students to enroll in international scientific and engineering programs, aligning with the goal of expanding global educational opportunities.

3. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

   • Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries… encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers…
     
     Explanation: The article is a showcase of enhancing scientific research and innovation. This is seen in the development of a “deep-learning algorithm” to analyze MRA scans and the creation of “new virtual assets that will be incorporated into a new VR simulation” using “state-of-the-art technology.” The collaboration involves future physicians, scientists, and engineers, directly contributing to the R&D workforce.

4. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

   • Target 17.6: Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation and enhance knowledge sharing on mutually agreed terms…
     
     Explanation: The partnership between Carle Illinois College of Medicine (USA) and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (Taiwan) is a clear example of international cooperation on science and technology. The article highlights an “international research-sharing system” where countries “build on one another’s strengths” by sharing data, expertise, and technology.
   • Target 17.16: Enhance the global partnership for sustainable development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources…
     
     Explanation: The article explicitly mentions that the exchange program is part of the “Global Consortium for Innovation and Engineering in Medicine (GCIEM), founded and led by Carle Illinois College of Medicine.” This consortium is a multi-stakeholder partnership designed to share knowledge and technology to advance medicine.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

   • Indicator: Development of new diagnostic tools and provision of free healthcare services.
     
     Explanation: Progress can be measured by the creation of the system to “automatically identify reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS)” and the delivery of services by the VnHOPE mission, such as “free dental and optometric care, reading glasses, pap smears, and medications.”

2. SDG 4: Quality Education

   • Indicator: Number of students participating in international and specialized training programs.
     
     Explanation: The article provides specific numbers that can be used as indicators: “Five CI MED students” and “five medical students from NYCU” in the main exchange, “55 Discovery Learning students” in total, and “8 out-of-country travelers.”

3. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

   • Indicator: Creation of new technologies and research outputs.
     
     Explanation: The article points to concrete outputs like the “new extended reality-based assets and interactions for medical simulations” and the development of a “deep-learning algorithm” for analyzing MRA scans. These are tangible indicators of innovation.

4. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

   • Indicator: Establishment and operation of international partnerships and consortia.
     
     Explanation: The existence of the “new student exchange program between Carle Illinois College of Medicine (CI MED) and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan (NYCU)” and the “Global Consortium for Innovation and Engineering in Medicine (GCIEM)” are direct indicators of successful partnerships.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: medicine.illinois.edu