RAFU Summer University at Nizhny Novgorod: school on FAST Medicine on the Volga River

On July 13, 2026, the International Summer School on FAST Medicine (Focused Assessment & Skills in Therapy) began at Lobachevsky University. The school is held in English as module of the «Summer Multidisciplinary University of the Russian-African Network University (LMU RAFU)» with the support of the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education. 

The official opening ceremony was attended by Oleg Trofimov, UNN Rector; Viktor Anisimov, Minister of Science & Higher Education of the Nizhny Novgorod Region; Elena Mishina, Deputy Director of the Department of Tourism Development & External Relations of the Nizhny Novgorod Administration; Alexandra Budakova, Head of the International Relations Division of the Ministry of International and Interregional Relations of the Nizhny Novgorod Region; as well as the trainees, instructors, and volunteers of the summer school.

In 2026, the school`s participants are 15 medical students from Algeria, Egypt, Cameroon, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Tunisia, and Chad. Over the next two weeks, the students will engage in theoretical and practical classes & workshops, as well as an exciting cultural & cultivation track in Nizhny Novgorod and the historic town of Gorodetz.

The school`s training program is dedicated to functional diagnostics, specifically the integration of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) with modern patient assessment scales and evidence-based medicine methods.

"There is the FAST protocol, which is used for emergency patient assessment, and our main goal at the summer school is to transform theoretical knowledge into practical skills – to learn how to make decisions quickly and confidently. All classes will be delivered by highly qualified specialists and practicing physicians at the Simulation Center and the University Clinic of the Institute of Clinical Medicine, as well as the Korolev Research Institute of Cardiology. I wish you not only to gain and deepen your medical knowledge and practice your clinical skills, but also to immerse yourselves in the culture and atmosphere of our beloved city, and to make new friends,"emphasized Dr.Daria Solovyova, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Internal Medicine at Lobachevsky University and the academic manager of the summer school.