Discussion Café (D-Café) is an event where TMDU and affiliated universities students get together to exchange opinions and discuss hot topics in English. In this COVID-19 pandemic era, D-Café has been held in an online forum. This time, TMDU and UMich students held a two-hour D-Café to discuss two topics, “The skills and vision important for healthcare professionals during and after pandemic,” and “How we should prepare for the next pandemic in the future.”

We held this event online since all programs for traveling overseas and studying abroad were cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. Discussion with motivated students from UMich provided us with significant opportunities for obtaining new information and viewpoints.

This event brought together 27 students from each university, including not only Faculty of Dentistry students, but also those from the Faculty of Medicine. We were divided into 9 small groups where we discussed for 60 minutes and then gave presentations and responded to questions from participants. With the 2 topics, mentioned above, focusing on circumstances during and after COVID-19 pandemic, participants expressed constructive opinions which would help students put their visions into practice. This 2-hour discussion was dense and provided milestones for every student.

Passion and positivity of students eager to interact with international people has crystallized this event. Also, we could not have made a success of this large scale event without the tremendous dedication from both universities’ faculties. This was an exciting and adventurous event allowing us to reconfirm the enjoyment of international exchange and our mission to gain advanced knowledge even under the current situation.

(HsLP Task force)