Professor Čivljak on Erasmus+ Mobilities and the FIAMC Congress in Brazil

Professor Marta Čivljak, PhD, from the Faculty of Health Studies, spent the period from July 30 to August 10, 2026, in Brazil, where she completed two mobilities under the Erasmus+ program and participated in the international congress of the World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations (FIAMC).

As part of the Erasmus+ mobility, she stayed at the Catholic University of Brasília (Universidade Católica de Brasília – UCB) from July 30 to August 3. The host of the mobility was Professor Antonio Carlos Souza, PhD. The stay provided an opportunity to become acquainted with the university's work, exchange academic and professional experiences, and discuss possibilities for future inter-institutional cooperation. Particularly valuable was learning about their approaches to teaching and modern instructional methods, including Team-Based Learning (TBL), which enabled the exchange of experiences and the comparison of different teaching models in the fields of biomedicine and healthcare.

During her stay in Brasília, from July 30 to August 1, she also attended the FIAMC Congress, which brought together physicians, healthcare professionals, and experts from various parts of the world, fostering discussions on current issues in medicine, bioethics, and healthcare.

The second Erasmus+ mobility took place from August 5 to 10 at the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná – PUCPR) in Curitiba. During this teaching mobility, she carried out a series of activities that offered a valuable opportunity for the direct exchange of knowledge and experiences with students and faculty, as well as for gaining insight into diverse approaches to education and healthcare in Croatia and Brazil.
 

As part of the program, meetings were held with Mr. Rogério Renato Mateucci, Rector of PUCPR; Prof. José Knopfholz, MD, PhD, Dean of the School of Medicine and Life Sciences; Viviane Martins Mäder, International Relations Coordinator; Prof. Ana Beatriz Costa Silva, PhD, International Cooperation Representative of the School of Medicine and Life Sciences; Prof. Jean Rodrigo Tafarel, MD, PhD, Coordinator of the Medicine Study Program; and Prof. Cynthia Bordin, PhD, Representative of the School of Medicine and Life Sciences. The program also included an introduction to the university's teaching and clinical facilities, featuring a visit to the Clinical Simulation Center, alongside discussions on prospects for international academic collaboration.
 

During the same period, PUCPR also hosted a delegation from the Croatian Catholic Medical Society (HKLD), whose members had previously attended the FIAMC Congress in Brasília. These meetings provided an additional opportunity to connect Croatian and Brazilian colleagues and explore potential forms of future academic, professional, and scientific cooperation.

The stay at the two Brazilian Catholic universities and participation in the international congress proved to be an exceptionally valuable experience and an opportunity to exchange knowledge, experiences, and best practices, gain insight into different academic and healthcare systems, and forge new professional and institutional contacts.

A particular value of this mobility lies in opening pathways for further cooperation between the Catholic University of Croatia and Brazilian partner institutions through future academic mobilities, joint teaching and scientific research initiatives, and closer connections among faculty, researchers, and students. The established contacts and shared ideas form a solid foundation for developing tangible collaborative projects in the future.