Education
In order to improve health care in Latvia, LMF considered it important to complement the knowledge of Latvian doctors. The fund do this with travel scholarships to provide young doctors with opportunities to study abroad and bring new knowledge back to Latvia. The first fellows were orthopedic surgeon Valdis Zatlers and vascular surgeon Dainis Krievins. Scholarships became the main activity of LMF in 2002, when LMF founded a Zarins-Knight study travel scholarship program. From 1992 to 2023 LMF has awarded 82 scholarships, totaling more than $382 000 (avarage < $5,000 each).
Study travel scholarship programs
Currently, LMF travelling Fellowships are divided into three categories:
- Zarins Travelling Fellowship for Residents and Young Doctors – for Latvian residents and young doctors to acquire medical knowledge from outside Latvia and bring it back to Latvia.
- Zarins Travelling Fellowship for Medical Students – for Latvian medical students to supplement their knowledge in foreign universities and scientific laboratories.
- Zarins Pre-medical Travelling Fellowship– for youths of Latvian origin who live outside Latvia to spend the summer in Latvia at one of the major hospitals.
