institutional impact

Project scope:

Ludwig Maximilians University (LMU) is a large public medical institution with a strong focus on research and patient care, and educating students at all levels. In 1996 an influential group of LMU department chairs began working with then-Harvard Medical International with the goal of creating a new teaching and learning culture that would prepare LMU to lead the way in reforming German medical education.

Collaboration with PHMI:

LMU and PHMI have collaborated to develop curricular models and teaching strategies to supplement the traditional lecture format with problem-based learning. In partnership with faculty at PHMI and Harvard Medical School, LMU’s students, faculty, and administration have led a series of educational reforms in the school’s curriculum that have spurred similar programs at other schools in Germany. Highlights of the partnership include the following:

• A complete restructuring of the LMU curriculum built around problem-based learning and increased bedside teaching
• Annual faculty development workshops that have provided training to more than 500 faculty members
• The Harvard-Munich clerkship opportunity is one of the most sought after study-abroad activities offered to medical students in Germany. To date more than 70 students have participated, and their curriculum design outputs have been integrated the LMU curriculum and culture