Kosovo

Dartmouth’s relationship with Kosovar partners began with faculty and student exchanges between the medical school and the University of Prishtina medical faculty shortly after the end of the war in Kosovo in 1999.  The partnership has grown since to include capacity building and care delivery in orthopedics, obstetrics and gynecology, and family medicine, examining healthcare cost variations, and upgrading the electronic capabilities of the University of Prishtina Medical Faculty Library.

This neonatal ICU in Pristina, Kosovo, is a result of a decade long collaboration between Geisel and Kosovar physicians.
This neonatal ICU in Pristina, Kosovo, is a result of a decade long collaboration between Geisel and Kosovar physicians.

In 1999, former medical school dean Dr. James Strickler began working, under the auspices of the International Rescue Committee, with refugees from the conflict in Kosovo. Since then, he and other medical school faculty have led a number of initiatives that have forged strong ties between Geisel, the University of Prishtina and its affiliated medical center. Our bilateral exchange of students and faculty has involved more than 200 individuals.

President Atifete Jahjaga of Kosovo visited Dartmouth in 2012 to explore ways to expand the partnership, and to award Dr. Strickler with the Humanitarian Medal of Mother Teresa for his work in Kosovo.

Flaka Siqeca was the 2015 Kosovar exchange student selected from a competitive applicant pool from University of Prishtina. She spent the month of September on an elective rotation at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Pediatrics and Pediatric Anesthesia and finished with a week of rural family practice in Wells River, VT. She commented about her experience: "My study visit to the Geisel School of Medicine and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center was more than just a great professional experience - it was an enriching personal journey that I will always keep in my mind and heart."

Learn more:

Dartmouth Medicine - Strong Ties Between Kosovo and Dartmouth 

Dartmouth Now - We Need Strong Partners Kosovo President Tells Dartmouth

Dartmouth Medicine - Dartmouth Exports Its Measurement Methodologies

Dartmouth Medicine - A new organization is born in Kosovo