Pusan National University established the first-ever 'One Health' related course among universities nationwide for the first semester of the 2023 academic year.
The course was created under the 'One Health Liberal Arts Lecture Content Development Research and Pilot Project' operated by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, and was offered under the title 'Infectious Diseases and One Health in Modern Society.'
The lectures are conducted by a total of 13 experts in One Health, epidemiology, and zoonotic infectious diseases, invited from five veterinary schools, three medical schools, and four government ministries and affiliated research institutions nationwide. Sixty undergraduate students from Pusan National University's pre-medical and medical departments are currently enrolled.
The first class was held on the 8th at the Advanced Biomedical Convergence Center on Pusan National University Yangsan Campus, under the theme 'What is One Health and Why is it Important?'
Professor Jang Cheol-hoon of Pusan National University College of Medicine, who gave the first lecture, introduced One Health as “a concept widely accepted abroad, meaning that the most appropriate response to zoonotic infectious diseases requires linking humans, animals, and the environment.”
He continued, “To cope with new infectious diseases like COVID-19, it is essential to overcome national borders and bureaucratic barriers within governments, as well as for academia to engage in multidisciplinary cooperation across various fields such as medicine, veterinary science, and environmental engineering.”
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency is also promoting a project to expand the One Health education foundation by producing videos of this One Health lecture and sharing them with domestic universities and educational institutions.
Kang Dong-mook, Vice President for Medical Affairs at Pusan National University, said, “The establishment of this One Health course aims to pursue the development of medical education directions reflecting the needs of the Busan, Gyeongnam, and Ulsan regions, which are vulnerable to overseas infectious disease inflows.”
He added, “Once the establishment of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Pusan National University, which is currently underway, is realized, the number of courses integrating various disciplines such as One Health alongside existing medical fields is expected to increase further.”
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