ISC 2024 recap

On March 21st and 22nd of this year, the annual International Student Conference (ISC) organized by the Student Union (SU) took place on the premises of Riga Stradiņš University (RSU). The conference took place this year for the 10th year. ISC gives the opportunity to undergraduate and graduate students to defend their scientific works in front of an international jury, as well as to compete for valuable prizes. This year, 381 works from students in 17 different countries were submitted to the conference jury for evaluation.

As every year, the conference started with an opening ceremony. This year, the speeches were given by Līga Pūsepa, head of the conference organizing team, RSU Rector, Prof. Aigars Pētersons, vice-rector of RSU, Assoc. Prof. Dins Šmits and the Minister of Health, Dr. Hosam Abu Meri. The keynote speakers this year were Prof. Flemming Dela with a speech on the importance of physical activity in the treatment of type 2 diabetes and MSc Mihails Kozlovs with a speech on the European Court of Auditors and ensuring transparency in the European Union.

On the first day of the conference, a plenary session was held on the necessary actions of European countries to mitigate climate change. There were 12 oral sections in which students defended their scientific works, as well as 9 case report and 3 poster sections. In parallel with the sections, various workshops were held on the RSU METC premises, where students were given the opportunity to learn and develop their practical skills in medicine. On the first day of the conference, there was a Kalve coffee workshop with coffee tastings, as well as an excursion to the Paul Stradiņš Museum of the History of Medicine. The first day of the conference ended with the Clinical Case competition, in which several student teams demonstrated their skills in 3 rounds, diagnosed patients played by the conference volunteers and performed a resuscitation simulation in the final challenge.

The second day of the conference began with a yoga class for those interested. In the first half of the day, 4 poster, 2 case report and 7 oral sections were held. At the same time, a plenary session on military medicine and the use of artificial intelligence in it took place. After the plenary session, it was possible to attend a lecture on the use of AI in healthcare by DataMed’s Kaspars Grosu. In parallel with this lecture, the case report finals took place, where the best scientific works in this conference from the case report category were determined. Throughout the day, various workshops continued to take place on the premises of METC. From 15:00 to 18:00, the final of the oral sections (Grand Prix) took place, where the best of the works submitted for evaluation at the conference this year were determined.

The conference concluded with a closing ceremony, with a musical performance from Chris Noah. The winners of various sections, as well as the winners of the Grand Prix, were awarded prizes on the stage. This year, the Grand Prix places were awarded to: Ennata Viļuma (1st place), Maksims Trišins (2nd place) and Jekaterina Kozačenko (3rd place).

We would like to thank the sponsors of the conference – Egīla Gulbja Laboratorija, Repharm (VCA Poliklīnika, Centrālā Laboratorija, Mēness aptieka), Olimpia, DataMed, Doctus, Latvijas Kardiologu biedrība, Cēsu Klīnika, Elsa, Swedbank, RSU Absolventu asociācija, Latvijas Pediatru asociācija, Latvijas veselības aprūpes vadības speciālistu asociācija, Latviešu Ārstu un Zobārstu Apvienība, Latvijas Ķirurgu Asociācija, Latvijas Anesteziologu un reanimatologu asociācija, Latvian Institute of International Affairs, Latvijas Arodslimību Ārstu Biedrība, Baltic Journal of CLINICAL MEDICINE and RESEARCH, Nākotnes atbalsta fonds, Compendium medicine, ARDE line, Medicīnas apgāds, 885, IR, OYAKATA, Actimel, Dzintars, KALVE Coffee, Ahmad tea, Aston Hotel Riga, Ādažu Čipsi, AXA, MyFitness.