Key facts
- Dates — 19–26 May 2026
- Hosts — Maastricht University (Netherlands) and Karolinska Institutet (Sweden)
- Participants — SNU, East Africa University, Federal Ministry of Health Somalia
- Focus — Health professions education and curriculum development
From 19–26 May 2026, representatives from Somali National University (SNU), East Africa University (EAU) and the Federal Ministry of Health Somalia participated in a CURIOUS Project study visit to Maastricht University in the Netherlands and Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.
The visit was designed as an applied learning and capacity-building experience in health professions education. It combined structured learning, practical exercises, curriculum reflection, observation of teaching and institutional exchange.
Learning at Maastricht University
Participants explored the Maastricht approach to learning, enabling learning in health professions education, faculty development, nursing and midwifery education, digitalisation and blended learning, assessment, quality assurance, skills-laboratory education and project management.
SNU and EAU presented their current curricula, key challenges and early insights from stakeholder consultation and health workforce work, connecting international educational practice with Somali institutional priorities.
Learning at Karolinska Institutet
The programme included a study visit to the nursing programme in Huddinge, structured reflection, curriculum development using participants’ own materials, quality assurance in curriculum design, course development examples and exposure to the Midwize midwifery training approach.
Key lessons for Somalia
- Student-centred learning: increase active learning, facilitation, problem-solving and learner responsibility where feasible.
- Constructive alignment: align learning outcomes, teaching activities and assessment during curriculum and module review.
- Faculty development: build sustained faculty development, mentoring and peer learning into CURIOUS activities.
- Quality assurance: embed review, feedback and improvement mechanisms from the beginning of curriculum redesign.
- Digital and blended learning: design approaches around realistic connectivity, staff capacity and learner access.
- Contextual adaptation: adapt international approaches to Somali institutional realities and health workforce priorities.
From international learning to institutional action
The study visit informed follow-up capacity building. On 1–2 August 2026, Somali National University conducted a two-day cascading training for 15 academic staff in Mogadishu. The training introduced curriculum-development concepts and student-centred approaches, including Problem-Based Learning.
Recommended follow-up includes cascading training at SNU and EAU, applying constructive alignment to selected curricula and modules, developing a blended faculty-development pathway, establishing a curriculum quality-assurance framework, documenting Somali-context adaptations, and maintaining structured peer exchange with Maastricht University and Karolinska Institutet.
Source: Report on the CURIOUS Project Study Visit to Europe, 19–26 May 2026.
