MEDAN-USU PR: Universitas Sumatera Utara held the International Summer Course 2023 in collaboration with the SPIRIT Project, facilitated by the Faculty of Medicine, and took place from July 24-31, 2023. This Summer Course invited 19 resource persons from Spain, Cyprus, India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Mexico. In addition to USU, there were also several participants from other universities in Indonesia, such as Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB), Universitas Negeri Medan (UNIMED), and Universitas Syah Kuala (USK).

Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Prof. Dr. dr. Aldy Safruddin Rambe, Sp.S (K), in his presentation, revealed that after the Covid-19 Pandemic for more than three years, now developing countries, especially in Asia, are faced with the emergence of new health burden problems, apart from the burden of the two previous health problems, namely infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases. During the Covid-19 pandemic, restrictions on activities outside the home have increased sedentary lifestyles and indirectly impacted socio-economic changes in families. In addition, there has been a decrease in the number of community visits to hospitals or health centers to conduct routine examinations for non-communicable diseases, such as type-2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obesity, and coronary heart disease, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The above conditions have caused Asian countries to now face a triple burden of diseases, namely unfinished infectious diseases, a growing number of non-communicable diseases, and emerging global health conditions such as pandemics.

The Head of USU Summer Course 2023 in collaboration with SPIRIT Project, Prof Dr. dr Dina Keumala Sari, M.Gizi, Sp.GK (K) explained that the activity was attended by 12 countries, 18 universities, and 136 participants online and offline.

This activity was fully supported by the Rector of the Universitas Sumatera Utara Prof.Dr.Muryanto Amin, S.Sos, M.Si. The Rector hopes that by exchanging knowledge between developing countries, it is expected to produce an understanding, analysis and formulation of physical activity and the right diet to anticipate the problem of triple burden disease.

The Universitas Sumatera Utara, together with the SPIRIT Project (Sport and Physical Education as a Vehicle for Inclusion and Recognition in India, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka) with Erasmus Plus funding, has developed curriculum, e-learning, and lifelong learning courses that focus on the development of physical activity and nutrition for the prevention of non-communicable diseases. Activities focus on understanding and analyzing physical activity, balanced nutrition, nutrigenomics in sports, and other emerging issues. The Erasmus Plus SPIRIT Project involves European and Asian countries, including Spain, Cyprus, Portugal, India, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia.

This activity aims to introduce the field of excellence of the study program to attract students outside USU, especially international students, who are expected to support USU's internationalization program. As well as increasing the number of inbound students at the Faculty of Medicine USU, implementing the cooperation that has been established between institutions, introducing areas in North Sumatra Province that have biological wealth, and introducing Indonesian culture, especially North Sumatra, to the international world.

The course consisted of lectures and practicums, which focused on increasing physical activity and proper nutrition in supporting energy needs. During the activity, the material was presented on various aspects of reducing the incidence of non-communicable diseases, especially overcoming triple-burden diseases, especially in Asia. It is hoped that this course will open wider insights into sports issues and will bring USU even better, especially in the Asian region. (RJ/Prof Dina)

This news can be found in (Waspada) online news: https://waspada.id/pendidikan/usu-summer-course-2023-membuka-wawasan-di-wilayah-asia/
 

Also in Analisa online news: https://analisadaily.com/berita/baca/2023/07/31/1044805/usu-summer-course-2023-membuka-wawasan-di-wilayah-asia/

Author: Renny Julia - Public Relations Staff

Interviewee: Prof. Dina Keumala - USU Lecturer

Photographer: Special - Special