Esma Avakyan, Assistant Professor at the Department of Faculty Therapy No. 1 (Sechenov University) and Director of the AMEE International Networking Centre in Russia, has become an AMEE Associate Fellow. She has successfully completed a comprehensive four-stage training to receive this internationally recognised certification. Along with Esma Avakyan, several other employees of Sechenov University — as well as representatives of some other leading Russian universities — have applied for Associate Fellowship after successful completion of the training.

AMEE, the Association for Medical Education in Europe, is a worldwide organisation with members in ninety countries on five continents and is a voting member of the Executive Council of WFME (World Federation for Medical Education). AMEE connects medical teachers, educators, researchers, administrators, curriculum developers, deans, assessors, students, and trainees in medicine across the globe. The organisation promotes international excellence in healthcare education and supports teachers and institutions in their educational activities.

AMEE Associate Fellow is a prestigious status of a research fellow which is granted to few people who participate in the organisation’s activities. Each applicant has to demonstrate their academic excellence through research publications and conference attendance. Fellowship applications are assessed by Prof Trevor Gibbs, President of AMEE.

AMEE Associate Fellows are academics or healthcare professionals recognised as effective teachers, researchers, developers, and education leaders. They need to exhibit a strong commitment to facilitating the learning of students and junior colleagues in academic and clinical settings.

Esma Avakyan graduated with honours from Sechenov University in 2000, and following her thesis defence in 2007, she has been doing clinical teaching since then. She became involved with AMEE in 2018 when it opened its Russian branch based at Sechenov. A year later, she was appointed Executive Director of the AMEE International Networking Centre in Russia.

AMEE Russia has participated in a number of events for medical teachers. The ‘AMEE Virtual Conference 2020’ took place in September 2020 and brought together about 5,000 participants worldwide. AMEE Russia participated in the 11th international conference ‘Rosmedobr-2020’ which took place in October 2020. The counterparts from Tadzhikistan invited AMEE Russia to join in the ‘Tadzhik Virtual Conference on Modernisation of Medical Education 2020’.

This year, AMEE Russia will expand its involvement in the international activities of the parental organisation. The branch is due to partake in the ‘AMEE Virtual Conference 2021’ scheduled for 27–30 August 2021. The colleagues from Kazakhstan have expressed their interest in collaborating with AMEE Russia ahead of the meeting.

The educational activities of AMEE Russia are supported by the Department of Human Resources Development at Sechenov University.