A few years ago, Maria Ekelin, program director for our midwifery education, was in Austin, University of Texas (UT), for a semester. Here she taught pregnancy and childbirth care, within the framework of STINT Teaching Sabbatical.
"Being able to travel there has been a privilege and very stimulating. Of course, it was a challenge at times, but it also meant growth and personal development. Above all, I am so grateful that I got the chance from STINT and LU. To see another large university and get an impression of how things were handled there was instructive and has definitely contributed to my role as program director. It was also so nice to do it together with our youngest daughter, everyday life in the US became her and my great adventure. We were both very well received."
Development on many levels
A hit in terms of personal development, but her experience has also helped develop our own faculty.
"We still have a seminar over the web between nursing students at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) and midwifery students in Lund. This means internationalisation at home for everyone. The students discuss the importance of women's living conditions for nursing/midwifery. They also discuss what it is like to be a student and differences/similarities in our educations."
"Other things that I have taken home with me and implemented are teaching about writing scientifically early in the programme, which provides benefits for both students and teachers, interprofessional elements and increased knowledge of skills training. During the pandemic, we took note of how UT carried out its graduation digitally and did it in a similar way. I am passionate about educational issues and always have the University of Texas and how they did it in the back of my mind."
Ripples on the water
"My daughter was 14 years old when we left. She wasn't done with the US when we went home, so I knew she would want to go back someday. When she graduated from high school a year ago, she received her own scholarship through another organization and this May she came home after a year at college in Georgia."
"My co-teacher from Austin is going to a conference in Finland and will come in June to visit me in connection with that. It will be very nice to meet her again and discuss all world events from a professional perspective and of course our educations in Austin and Lund. She was very encouraging and open-minded towards me."
Would you recommend your colleagues to apply?
"Absolutely, it's one of the most fun things I've done as a teacher and something I would never have wanted to be without. It is empowering and developing in so many ways. In general, I want to encourage everyone who is thinking about something to do it!"