European Medical Students’ Association

Association Européenne des Étudiants en Médecine

emsa-europe.eu | Rue Guimard 15, 1040 Brussels | info@emsa-europe.eu

Quarterly Report - SOLO

MAY 2022- JUL 2022
Umut Yücel
solo@emsa-europe.eu

Overview of Activities regarding your Annual Plan

Work Regarding the Memoranda of Understanding

This quarterly term has really been highlighted with my work on

the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) in EMSA, in regards to
the student organisations we have been working with. For the
Spring Assembly in Lisbon, memoranda were not plentiful in
number to reflect the true networking efforts we have been
undertaking in the DEA; so after Lisbon, I have tried my best to
make more impactful collaborations with student organisations
that would end up getting an MoU signed. As that work has been
paying off, I have been trying my best to meet the deadlines
imposed by the IRs (Internal Rules) to get the MoUs ready to be
voted upon in our upcoming General Assembly in Budapest in
September.

EMSA. HEALTH.EUROPE.TOGETHER.
EMSA Europe Rue Guimard 15 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel : +32 2732 72 02 emsa-europe.eu info@emsa-europe.eu
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Page 2

AMSA International Annual General Meeting (03.07.2022)

As part of our agreement and our habit

of managing our partnership, I had been
invited to speak during the Annual
General Meeting of AMSA International,
taking place online, to talk about the
progress we have made this year in
regards to our partnership and
collaborations and to show my
appreciation to the LOMSO (Liaison to
Medical Students’ Organisations) in AMSA
and her team.

EHSAS Meeting (29.06.2022)

The European Healthcare Students’ Association Summit (EHSAS) has truly been one of my favourite
platforms to work on during my time as the SOLO - and we have made a lot of progress for the Summit
during the time I was there to represent EMSA:

● We have included ENSA (European Nursing Students’ Association) into our network;
● We have managed to put together a joint MoU for all our organisations to sign, to make things
easier rather than signing individual agreements in between each associations present in EHSAS
to sustain our relationships;
● We have put together an amazing collaborative project titled the “Mental Health Documentary”
which included video testimonials from members of all our organisations present in EHSAS on
issues of Mental Health and our advocacy efforts - the documentary was published online and
can be accessed through this link.

During the June Meeting, we have finalised our discussions on our joint MoU and put together a timeline
for individually signing the document and we talked about our upcoming live meeting that was later
revealed to be taking place in Brussels during the 3th and the 4th of September, and its logistic details.

Refugee Awareness Week Event with AMSA (25.06.2022):

Our collaborations with AMSA always motivate me well to be more

engaged with my work - since their topics and project types remind me
of the times I was an EIC Director for the EMSA board. This topic was
especially close to my heart, due to the human rights implications it has.
We had a speaker during the webinar, Ali Sikandar, who was a refugee
himself and was able to share some deep information on his experiences
that was impressive for all our attendees, including myself. The
collaboration involved the MEHR and the EIC Pillars from our ends and
with the help of Tomi Lola and Kayra, it turned out to be a great event
for both AMSA and EMSA members.

EMSA. HEALTH.EUROPE.TOGETHER.
EMSA Europe Rue Guimard 15 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel : +32 2732 72 02 emsa-europe.eu info@emsa-europe.eu
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EMSA Spring Assembly 2022 in Lisbon (07.05.2022 - 10.05.2022):

The Spring Assembly in Lisbon was truly a highlight of

the term and being able to get together with my
fellow board members with whom we had been
working together for half a year was an amazing
experience for me to have had. The Face - to - Face
meeting organised before the assembly was also really
fruitful for the purposes of establishing a sustainable
and a mental health - friendly working culture in the
board and we had amazing sessions and workshops to
develop our communication skills for one another. This
event really brought us closer together as friends and
colleagues so I really appreciate the memories.

Representation in the EPSA Executive Meeting (08.05.2022) - External Meeting report can be found
here.

During the Spring Assembly in Lisbon, I needed to

travel to Porto for a day to attend the Executive
Meeting of EPSA, that was taking place before their
63rd General Assembly, in order to fulfil an invitation I
had received from Chloé Lebbos, EPSA’s Vice President
of European Affairs. We were able to discuss our
organisational relations, future collaborations and
feedback each other on the past collaborations we
have had. A key point I took away from the meeting
was how important it was for EPSA to apply for and
sustain their access to funds from the European
Commission and the European Council to put together
a huge majority of their annual budget, besides their
membership fees. I really think that EMSA will also be better off financially, if we would also establish a
position for keeping up with fund applications under the Department of Finance to be able to take a
huge load off of our members with the fees we are charging them.

Works and Comments of Nadja Moser - SOLO Assistant:

SInce I could unfortunately not attend the spring assembly due to important university classes this
term, I was sad not to be able to support the SOLO during these exciting and productive days. Instead, I
started working on the collaboration together with AMSA on the World Refugee Day on 20th June that
marked a highlight in this quarter term. I therefore coordinated different persons involved, especially
with the PR department and the pillar for European Integration and Culture. I also created the
registration survey and worked on the schedule, together with Umut and my fellow EMSAis.In the end, I
moderated the event and was guiding through the panel discussion.

EMSA. HEALTH.EUROPE.TOGETHER.
EMSA Europe Rue Guimard 15 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel : +32 2732 72 02 emsa-europe.eu info@emsa-europe.eu
 3rd Quarterly Report
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Problems Faced
Of course we faced problems. During the Spring Assembly Face - to - Face meetings we have had a lot
of issues to work through in terms of our communicational and personal working habits. Some of those
problems were resolved, some not - but in the end we knew we really had to sustain our ability to work
together for the rest of the term to make sure our organisation ends up at a better place than we had
taken it onto ourselves at. Unfortunately, ever since the Spring Assembly, our President took a distance
from her team and we lost an element of synchronisation and teamwork, due to her sometimes
physical, sometimes mental absence. I personally understand that EMSA work is voluntary and it may
not come before one’s personal mental health issues, their family health or personal physical health
problems; as well as their academic lives. However, I do think that when one sees it clearly how their
personal issues in life or their problems with certain team members puts out a certain picture that
clearly shows that this working environment is not being overseen or sustained best, one should also
consider resigning from their position to distance themselves from this negativity and to focus on their
personal lives.

Self-evaluation/Reflection

Upon reflecting on the topic above, I do want to also mention that this quarterly term has perhaps been
my most difficult one ever in my three term experience in this board. Since the Department of External
Affairs of the term 2021 - 2022, consists of only 2 members now, not counting assistants, it was really a
lonely experience to go through, having lost my guidance from the President. I had to miss out on a lot
of project opportunities and confirmation deadlines because I wasn’t getting any replies to my texts or
emails from the EMSA President, who had to also undertake the responsibilities of the Vice President of
External Affairs of the term. It was heartbreaking for me to see the opportunities we were missing, due
to a lack of executive confirmation. I did my best in accordance with the power invested in me as the
SOLO by the Internal Rules, but I do believe that I could have done much more, had I been given the
facilities and the help of an executive leadership. With that being said, I am still content with the work
I was able to do and I appreciate the help of my dear assistant, Nadja Moser, throughout these difficult
times.

EMSA. HEALTH.EUROPE.TOGETHER.
EMSA Europe Rue Guimard 15 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel : +32 2732 72 02 emsa-europe.eu info@emsa-europe.eu