On October 12-14, 2022 Professor Tinatin Chikovan Head of the Department of Education Management, Assessment and Students Registration, Professor Lela Maskhulia Dean of the Faculty of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Professor Levan Baramidze Head of the Department of Public Health, Management, Policy and Economy and Assoc. Prof. Nino Kiladze Chief specialist of the TSMU Quality Assurance Service participated in the conference SPRING-4-MED within the framework of THE ERASMUS+ SPRING PROJECT at the Medical University of Sofia (Bulgaria).

SPRING project unites 14 universities in 7 countries: Bulgaria, Lithuania, Georgia, Belarus, Moldova, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan. The aim of the conference was to define peer review tools and goals for medical education.

A special session was dedicated to the foundation of the Peer Review Association for Medical and Health Education of Eastern Europe and Central Asia which was established within the framework of the project by the partner universities. The goal of the association is to support universities' preparation for international and national accreditation. In particular, effective elaboration and evaluation of new (bachelor's, master's, and doctorate) academic programs. The association supports publication of articles in the journal Medical and Health Sciences Education for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (MEDH-EECA) and organization of training-courses, seminars and conferences.

Within the framework of the conference, participant universities presented reports about ongoing challenges and opportunities of the project for their higher education institutions. TSMU presented report: “Lessons learned from the ERASMUS+ project “SPRING”.

The representatives of the participant universities were invited as guests to the international conference "Sofia - the Capital of Public Health” initiated and organized by the Medical University of Sofia and the Association of Schools of Public Health in the European Region (ASPHER).