Global Portal connects Melbourne students with Mexico City
Inside a golden shipping container in the middle of the University of Melbourne’s Parkville campus, an international portal connected healthcare professionals and patients in Mexico City with audiology and optometry students in Melbourne.
The Global Portal on campus is a walk-in, life-sized shipping container equipped with full-body, high-definition audio and video that connects the University of Melbourne with other Portals around the world. It creates a focused space for small-group, live conversations that support teaching, learning and enrichment through meaningful cross-cultural exchange.
The Mexico-Melbourne discussion focused on the differences and similarities between the two healthcare landscapes, and the impact on patient care. While the conversation primarily centred on private versus publicly funded care and access for citizens, learning about the importance of traditional medicine in Mexico was a highlight for the Melbourne students.
“What I found particularly interesting was the importance of traditional medicine in Mexico, where mothers and grandmothers are often the first ‘doctors’. This reflected values of family-based care and intergenerational knowledge, which resonated with my own upbringing. It highlighted how, despite cultural differences, we share many of the same values.”, Ikram, audiology student.
The opportunity to connect with, and learn from, people in international healthcare settings is critical to the education of globally informed, culturally aware health professionals. The Global Portal provides an innovative way to make those connections.
