Thomas Jefferson University offers a two-month clinical observership opportunity to students enrolled at the University of Rwanda. In exchange, Jefferson students spend a month in Rwanda for public health education and experience alongside their counterparts involved in Rwanda Village Community Promoters (RVCP), formerly known as Rwanda Village Concept Project.
Since the program was pioneered by Dr. James Plumb and his daughter Dr. Ellen Plumb in 2007, more than 100 Jefferson students and faculty members spent time in Rwanda. Between 2007 and 2018, there were 36 Rwandan medical students who spent time at Jefferson. However, a range of external factors stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic downturn created years of gap in the bidirectional student exchange. To step up efforts, in 2023, Dr. Regine Nshimiyimana Maniraho (Regine.Nshimiyimana-Maniraho@jefferson.edu), as the lead liaison for the program, and Jefferson put forward a formal Memorandum of Understanding between Jefferson and Rwanda to continue to offer students the opportunity for clinical observership and public service-learning in both countries.
Click the link to learn more about the Bilateral Exchange program between Jefferson and Rwanda.