“The USP Winter School far exceeded my expectations. Every class was deeply engaging, and I learned a great deal.”

Sofia Abrudan, a student in the MD-PhD program at the University of Groningen (UG), recently returned from São Paulo, Brazil, where she took part in the 2025 edition of the USP Winter School, hosted by the Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo.

Sofia was one of five UG medical students selected by the Graduate School of Medical Sciences to attend this international program, which offers intensive short courses across multiple medical specialties. Motivated by her interest in maternal medicine and the neurodevelopment of very preterm infants, she enrolled in the Gynecology & Obstetrics course.

She describes the experience as both academically rigorous and practically enriching: lectures were combined with hands-on sessions, allowing students to observe how maternal health is approached and practiced in different contexts.

On a personal level, Sofia emphasized the warmth of the academic community she encountered:

“Beyond the incredible academic experience, the professors and medical students we met were exceptionally welcoming and went out of their way to ensure we had the best possible time. We were fortunate to have an inspiring mentor, Dr. Marco Antônio Borges Lopes, who not only guided us academically but also helped us experience Brazil through the eyes of locals.”

Currently entering her fifth year of the MD/PhD program, Sofia sees her participation at USP as a valuable step in her academic journey—and as the beginning of continued cooperation between UG and USP.

This exchange reflects the longstanding strategic partnership between UG and USP, which fosters research collaboration, student mobility, and opportunities such as Sandwich PhD trajectories.

For more information about opportunities in Latin America, please contact: latinamerica@rug.nl

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Photo by Sara Bakhshi on Unsplash