Andrej Simko has been appointed as Co-Chair of the CTM-E Students Group

Andrej is a third-year medical student at the University of Milano-Bicocca with a strong interest in anesthesiology and resuscitation, intensive care medicine, emergency medicine and disaster medicine. He has completed internships in the Intensive Care Unit at Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital and has also shadowed the anesthesiology department at Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute. He holds certifications in Adult and Pediatric BLSD.

Andrej will serve as Co-Chair of the Students Group alongside Kornelia Borowy and seek to contribute to the CTM-E’s strategy to support and develop initiatives focused on students. The formation of the Students Group was initially announced on the 29th of March, following approval from the Board of CTM-E. The newly formed group is designed to take advantage of opportunities to bridge academic training and disaster response.

At CTM-E, we recognise that the landscape of global security and public health has evolved, promoting more research and innovation in training the next generation of frontline professionals, including medical students, special medical operations personnel, and police and fire brigade cadets.

The primary mission of the new membership is to dismantle the financial and logistical barriers that often prevent students from accessing world-class training. Members of the Students Group will have the ability to apply and receive dedicated support in financial aid (tailored guidance for securing funding, grants, and bursaries), logistics support (assistance with travel and accommodation costs to attend exclusive workshops and international disaster medicine summits), and research mentorship (direct support for students undertaking ambitious research programs like trauma care, counter-terrorism medical strategies and tactics, policies and crisis management).

Part of CTM-E’s strategic efforts to support educational programs for students and young professionals is the active involvement in organising the WADEM Disaster Medicine Summer School, an initiative led by the WADEM SYP SIG in collaboration with CEMEC and CTM-E.