The Fellowship
The GSMC-FAIMER Regional Institute fellowship is a two-year program. It consists of three residential sessions, which take place at the Seth G.S. Medical College in Mumbai, and two 11-month distance learning sessions, one following the first residential session and one following the second.
The first and second residential sessions consist, respectively, of six days and three days of highly interactive educational activities. Curriculum topics include student assessment, good teaching practices, program evaluation, distance learning, change management, project planning, conflict management, educational research and scholarship, and qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis.
The distance learning sessions focus on the mentoring of Fellows, network building, and the exchange of ideas through participation in an internet discussion group. During the distance learning sessions, Fellows also implement an education innovation project at their home institution. A summary of the project and results are presented during the second residential session.
At the end of the two-year program, graduating Fellows return for the third (final) residential session to report on further progress of their innovation projects, experience the poster presentations of their successors, and celebrate their completion of the fellowship with a graduation ceremony.
The fellowship course fees is funded by FAIMER. However, Fellows (or their institutions) are responsible for the expenses of travel and stay. Similarly the costs involved in carrying out the project are also not covered. It is highly recommended that Fellows have access to a Wi-Fi capable laptop computer for use during residential sessions.
Education Innovation Project
A major goal of the fellowship program is the completion of an education innovation project, proposed by Fellows in their initial application to the Institute, and then implemented at their home institution. Projects with the potential to improve the health of the community, region, or country of the applicant’s institution are given higher priority in the fellowship selection process.
To encourage the development of knowledge and skills in health professions education scholarship (research, evaluation, and publishing), Fellows prepare a poster and an abstract based on their project after one year of project implementation. Ongoing support from faculty and Fellows throughout the program also fosters scholarship based on project activities.
Project proposals typically involve, but are not limited to, one or more of the following areas: student assessment, educational application of information technology, health systems integration, community-based health professions education, problem-based learning, clinical skills development, professionalism and ethics, critical thinking, program evaluation, faculty development, curriculum revision and/or integration, student affairs, interactive teaching methods, development of medical education units, and distance learning.
Fellows
Building regional communities of practice of health professions educators is another major goal of the GSMC-FRI fellowship. Throughout the two-year program, each Fellow interacts closely with Fellows from their own class, the preceding class, and the subsequent class. Community building is fostered by a period of overlap in the residential sessions for first- and second-year participants, providing opportunities for interaction among Fellows who are beginning their education innovation projects and those who have worked on their projects for a year. On-line discussion during the distance learning sessions provides an additional forum for group work on research and projects, and for the sharing of resources and experience among current Fellows and Institute graduates. Fellows are encouraged to continue their participation in the larger FAIMER community after completion of the fellowship.
GSMC-FRI selected its first class of Fellows in 2005. To date, more than 250 individuals from more than 40 health professions education schools in four countries have participated in the fellowship.
The global FAIMER community includes more than 2000 Fellows from more than 200 schools in more than 40 countries.
Program Faculty
The GSMC-FAIMER Regional Institute is supported by regional FAIMER faculty, who are past FAIMER Institute and GSMC-FRI Fellows, as well as by international experts in health professions education.
Administration
The GSMC-FRI program is organized and administered by its leadership team consisting of Dr. Praveen B Iyer, Co-Director, Dr. Henal R Shah, Co-Director and Dr. Munira A Hirkani, Associate Director along with the support of a core team of Seth G.S. Medical College faculty. Dr. Avinash N Supe, Founder Director and Dr. Nirmala N Rege, Ex-Co-Director continue to be source of inspiration and guidance.
Schedule
The schedule for the 2023 fellowship cycle is:
| January 17, 2023 | Application opens |
| February 26, 2023 | Application deadline |
| Feb-Mar 2023 | Review of applications |
| March 2023 | Announcement of awards |
| 17-22 April 2023 | Instruction Phase (Face-to-Face) |
| May 2023 to Mar 2023 | Implementation Phase (Synchronous + Asynchronous Online session) |
| April 2024 | Instruction Phase Year 2 (Face-to-Face) |
| May 2024- March 2025 | Implementation Phase Year 2 (Synchronous + Asynchronous Online session) |
| April 2024 | Course Completion / Graduation |
The GSMC-FAIMER Regional Institute is sponsored by the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER), which is a nonprofit foundation of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG).
To apply to GSMC-FRI, please click here.
To request more information on the program via e-mail, please click here.