German medical education has been undergoing significant changes during the last two decades. Both students and faculty have expressed a growing interest in active learning that would more effectively prepare students for the transition from the basic science years of medical school to the period of clinical skills acquisition. The federal government, too, has legislated curricular reforms, while some states revised the structure of governance for both medical schools and academic medical centers. The medical faculty at the Carl Gustav Carus Technische Universität Dresden (TUD) viewed these developments as an opportunity to raise the stature of the university as a whole while improving medical education and research. In 1996 they began a collaboration with Harvard Medical International in order to meet a number of challenges:

  • Enhance the medical school's competitive position and reputation
  • Introduce curricular reforms emphasizing more active, student-centered learning
  • Create case-based teaching modules


The collaboration has focused on three major initiatives:
  • The design of integrated case-based teaching modules to be included in the revised Dresden medical education curriculum.
  • A tutor training program to enhance faculty from TUD and other regional medical schools. The programs are offered twice each year and, to date, more than 500 faculty members have participated.
  • An annual clerkship program to provide selected Dresden students with the opportunity to learn in Harvard-affiliated academic medical centers.

During the course of its long relatinship with our organization, the Dresden school's achievements in curriculum reform have gained national recognition and led to governmental support for innovations in medical education. Highlights include:

  • The Technische Universität Dresden has built a reputation for excellence in medical education, and gained national recognition from the German Academic Exchange Service.
  • Thirteen new case-based modules have been introduced into the Dresden curriculum.
  • Members of the Carl Gustav Carus Medical Faculty have used their experience to help other medical schools in Europe and elsewhere develop curricular reforms.