Cooperation program Human medicine Bonn-Siegen
Here you can find information about the Bonn-Siegen Human Medicine Cooperation Program (background, objectives, cooperation partners, courses offered).
The following content, including all additional information pages, is provided in English for informational purposes only. The legally binding version is the German text. The language of instruction within the Bonn-Siegen cooperation is German.
Model project Rethinking Medicine
The model project Rethinking Medicine is testing new approaches in teaching and research to ensure healthcare provision in rural areas in the future. The following challenges must be taken into account
- An increasingly aging population outside urban centers with specific medical needs due to demographic change and rural migration.
- Gaps in (family) medical care in rural regions.
At the same time, rapid advances in medical technology, particularly in the areas of digital and telemedicine, offer great opportunities to address these challenges and establish new, innovative care models.
The model project Rethinking Medicine seeks solutions to
- better connect relevant participants in medical education and care in the region.
- train new personnel locally and inspire them to work in rural areas.
- strengthen medical care in rural areas and meet the care needs of an increasingly elderly patient population through new interdisciplinary approaches in teaching and research.
In order to develop these solutions together, the model project draws on three pillars:
- Educational cooperation in the human medicine program between the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Bonn, the University of Siegen, and four clinical training partners in Siegen.
- Medicine-related interdisciplinary degree programs at the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Siegen with a special focus on tele/digital medicine.
- Testing and researching innovative medical care models with a focus on health services research, medical information technology, telemedicine, and nanomedicine in the model region of the Dreiländereck health region.
Cooperation partners
University of Siegen | Faculty of Life Sciences
The Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Siegen pursues an interdisciplinary approach to teaching and research with a particular focus on tele- and digital medicine. The Bachelor's degree program in Digital Biomedical and Health Sciences aims to create a new professional profile in the field of healthcare, in which academic professionals receive interdisciplinary training to develop and apply digital technologies for patient-oriented and care-oriented medical care.
The consecutive master's programs focusing on digital medical technology, biomedical technology, and digital public health are currently (as of 2021) in the planning stage.
With complementary electives and extracurricular offerings from the course catalog of its medical-related bachelor's and master's programs, the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Siegen is integrated into the human medicine curriculum of the Faculty of Medicine. Further information can be found under Course Offerings.
Clinical training partners
The Medical Faculty of the University of Bonn cooperates with four clinical training partners in Siegen, which are involved in the clinical practical training and practical year training of students in the human medicine program. These are:
- Siegen Hospital
- Diakonie Hospital Jung-Stilling
- Marienkrankenhaus Hospital
- DRK Children's Hospital
Course offerings
The courses offered in the cooperation program are open to all students enrolled in the human medicine degree program in Bonn. In terms of course content/learning objectives and the required performance assessment, they are equivalent to the corresponding courses in Bonn.
As part of Elective I in the preclinical stage of their studies, medical students in Bonn can choose from a varying range of courses offered by the Bonn-Siegen cooperation program. More information on the current electives can be found here.
In cooperation with our clinical training partners in Siegen, we provide students in the clinical-practical section of the human medicine program with the opportunity to complete block internships in the relevant departments of our training partners.
Students gain practical knowledge of a wide range of clinical conditions and thus gain an impression of the specific issues involved in medical care in rural areas. In addition, they train their differential diagnostic skills in individual seminars and workshops.
© Diakonie in Südwestfalen gGmbH
The training, which is supervised by specialist physicians, most of whom are habilitated, is based on the high standards that the Faculty of Medicine sets for teaching. The high quality of the courses offered in Siegen is accompanied by medical didactic training for teachers provided by the Faculty of Medicine in cooperation with the DoT.Med program. In addition, the teaching formats are evaluated after each course, and the results of these evaluations are used to continuously improve the quality of the courses offered at the Siegen campus.
© Diakonie in Südwestfalen gGmbH
All block internships in Siegen are currently offered as condensed semester break events during the lecture-free periods in March and September (usually during the last four weeks of the lecture-free period). They last between two and a half and ten days. Currently, the block internships cover the fields of internal medicine, anesthesiology, surgery, urology, neurology, pediatrics, and gynecology and obstetrics. The range of subjects is continuously expanding.
An introduction to the neurology department at Siegen Hospital.
An introduction to the anesthesiology department at Siegen Hospital.
Registration period for the holiday block internships in Siegen for the 2025/2026 winter semester: July 21, 2025 - August 3, 2025
Further information on block internships at university hospitals, externally, and during semester breaks can be found here.
Holiday block internships internal medicine: 15.09.25 - 26.09.25 (10 days- full day)
Holiday block internship surgery: 22.09.25 - 02.10.25 (10 days - full day)
Holiday block internship anesthesiology: 29.09.25 - 02.10.25 (5 days - full day)
Holiday block internship urology: 06.10.25 - 10.10.25 (2,5 days)
Holoday block internship neurology 1: 15.09.25 - 19.09.25 (5 days - full day)
Holiday block internship neurology 2: 22.09.25 - 26.09.25 (5 Tage full days)
Minimum number of participants: 6 students per block internship
Holiday block internship pediatrics: 15.09.25 - 19.09.25 (5 days full day)
Holiday block internship gynecology 1: 22.09.25 - 26.09.25 (5 days full day)
Holiday block internship gynecology 2: 06.10.25 - 10.10.25 (5 days full day)
A network of practices is currently being established in the South Westphalia region. Further information will follow and can be found on the website of the Institute for Family Medicine.
Testimonials
“The lecturers/doctors were all highly motivated and, above all, took the time to teach us practical skills.”
“Each department managed to convey its own educational content in an interesting, concise, and patient-oriented manner.”
(From the Rethinking Medicine presentation by Prof. Strünck/Prof. Weber on November 27, 2020)
If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the Bonn-Siegen Human Medicine Cooperation Program, or if you would like to register for a block internship or elective I in Siegen, please contact us at Bonn-Siegen(at)ukbonn.de.
Contact
Your way to us
Dean's Office of the Faculty of Medicine
Venusberg-Campus 1, Gebäude 33, 53127 Bonn
