Neuruppin, 4 April 2025
The Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane (MHB) welcomed ca. 130 new students last Friday. The event location Kulturkirche in Neuruppin hosted the ceremony for 69 prospective physicians, 41 Bachelor students of psychology in programs with on-site classes and also with elements of distance learning, as well as 20 Master students of psychotherapy. The newcomers followed proceedings with a thrill of anticipation on that special day which marked the start of their studies and at the same time the onset of a new exciting stage in life.
President Prof. Simon: "Start of a new stage"
"Dear students, this is the start of a new stage for you, with new experiences, memories, friendships and partnerships. Some of them will last a lifetime. You have opted for an ambitious undertaking, and we are going to support you to the best of our ability,” so MHB president Prof. Hans-Uwe Simon in his words of welcome. He underlined the high degree of practice and patient orientation in all elements of the medical curriculum, including the theoretical fundamentals of biology, chemistry and physics. “Taken together with instruction in small groups, this makes for easier learning. In psychology and psychotherapy, the MHB is also in the vanguard as the very first university to implement the revised regulations for psychotherapy training in its new psychology programs.” He encouraged all newcomers to become actively involved in university affairs and make use of the many options to advance the MHB.
10 years of MHB: Innovation, practice orientation and research
Since it was founded 10 years ago, the MHB together with three associated university hospitals and four campus sites in Bernau, Brandenburg an der Havel, Neuruppin and Rüdersdorf stands for innovative and scientifically sound medical training with strong practice orientation. The MHB combines research, student education and healthcare provision and offers instruction at the highest medical, psychotherapeutic and academic level to approximately 1110 students currently enrolled, including the option of a doctorate.
Political support for the university
Prof. Ulrike Liedtke, president of the regional parliament, said the MHB can be proud of its excellent reputation as a training facility acquired in just ten years: “Student instruction at the MHB is not caught up in outdated traditions but oriented towards people and the practical realities of healthcare; it is innovative, modern and forward-looking. It is therefore important and right to see to it that the Brandenburg Medical School has a good future and can carry on with its outstanding performance. All sides will profit, above all the State of Brandenburg and its population, since most MHB graduates stay in the region. With a view to the current debate on planned cuts in public funds, she referred to Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke’s clear statement that funding will continue. She pointed to imminent budget discussions and underlined the importance of the MHB as an employer for Neuruppin, Brandenburg an der Havel and the entire region. She is convinced of revisions in the originally scheduled budget, as happens with drafts submitted to the regional parliament on a regular basis.
Prof. Stamm: "We wish to empower you"
Prof. Dr. Thomas Stamm as vice dean for curricular and academic affairs and professor of clinical psychiatry and psychotherapy, gave thanks to Prof. Liedtke for this clear commitment to the MHB. He described the specific MHB assignment: not profit orientation and rapid rubber-stamping of graduates but teaching and research in the State of Brandenburg with a focus on patient-centered healthcare in an ageing society. He presented an outlook on curricular details and on the challenges to be expected as a result of digitization and AI in medicine and psychotherapy, of societal change, gender-related topics and man-made climate change. “We wish to empower you to address these challenges elegantly, perhaps playfully, and from a basic ethical attitude.”
Welcome for fellow students
Master student Daniel Krüger (2nd semester, clinical psychology and psychotherapy) welcomed the beginners and described his own way to the MHB and his start. 4th-semester medical student Ilias Aasim changed over from Cologne. For him, the MHB is more than an excellent training facility; he feels very much at home in this supportive environment, in learning groups, in the SkillsLab or during leisure time. He invited the new students to the next benefit football tournament in May. He called the strong cohesion among MHB students a formative and valuable element for their studies as well as for their professional future as physicians. The experience and knowledge acquired in practice and research and the values conveyed therein will leave their mark on students and help them to develop into the kind of physicians they aspire to become.
A strong signal to the region
Carla Kniestedt once again acted as presenter of the event, which was musically accompanied by the Berlin Jazz Ensemble. Recovery wishes were sent to Prof. Johannes Albes, MHB professor of cardiac surgery and pianist, sax and double bass player, and song writer for the ensemble, who was absent due to illness.
The ceremony served not only as a welcome to new students but was another commitment to Brandenburg’s future, a promise of better healthcare and a strong and innovative region.
