The Faculty of Medicine is now taking shape and you have been instrumental in the process. Looking ahead, what are the next steps?
Elgin Drda: The Faculty of Medicine has made excellent strides and is very successful. In the coming years, we will continue to expand the Faculty as planned. After nearly 10 years, the Faculty has moved on from its infancy and we are now embarking on a new, decisive phase that will increasingly focus on data, facts, and research findings. We want to make the most from potential opportunities opened up through closer, cross-faculty partnerships. Very promising projects are underway, particularly in the field of applying artificial intelligence in medicine. The JKU, with its many experts, is ideally suited to become a nationwide pioneer in this field.

What have been the most memorable experiences during your time at the JKU Faculty of Medicine?
Elgin Drda: I have had the privilege of being actively involved in establishing the Faculty of Medicine in a variety of roles and have experienced countless memorable moments, starting with laying the foundations for the Faculty in 2014, the first chair appointments, the first White Coat Ceremony, and celebrating our first graduates’ graduation ceremony in 2020. The grand opening of the JKU MED Campus in September 2021 was also certainly a high point, as the Faculty of Medicine then truly became a new home for our students, researchers, faculty, employees, and myself.

There are plans to appoint internationally renowned physicians to future professorship positions at the Faculty. Do you have any plans to attract these experts to the JKU and Linz as a location for medicine?
Elgin Drda: We still have a strong sense of a "start-up spirit" here at our young Faculty, benefitting from the fact that we do not have any old, ingrained structures and can try out new things. Our award-winning “Virtual Anatomy” lecture hall at the JKU medSPACE is a prime example, having received several international awards and revolutionizing the way anatomy is taught. We are still in a developmental phase, giving us opportunities to actively involve our (future) professors in creating the curricula and expanding our research infrastructure. The sky’s the limit! We have always been open to innovative, creative ideas and we support our scholars’ pioneering spirits as they continue to drive advancements at the faculty forward. Our close proximity to the Kepler University Hospital and opportunities to conduct inter-faculty, interdisciplinary research are just two reasons to choose the JKU.

Before and during its inception, the JKU Faculty of Medicine was strongly criticized. Now, however, the Faculty has made a name for itself internationally by offering a contemporary medical degree program, supporting high-tech education (such as Virtual Anatomy), and contributing successfully to research. Has MED found its place in the world of medicine?
Elgin Drda: We could not have anticipated the MED’s success, especially as new start-ups are always risky and often initially regarded with suspicion. The Faculty of Medicine's success has had many mentors, ranging from government officials, the business community, and the scientific community. The crucial factor was that everyone involved pulled together and we had the confidence to try something new: a medical degree program as part of a Bachelor's/Master's system, and a hands-on, organ-centered educational program. We are firmly established in the meantime and have also been accepted by the medical community. We also work with many medical universities and research institutions in Austria and abroad.

At the end of your term of office, what would the JKU have to become for you to say: Yes, it was all worth it!
Elgin Drda: If, in the future, we can attract the best and brightest minds as faculty members, continue to successfully and passionately educate our students to become empathetic, outstanding physicians, and boost our research output and become trailblazers in the research field of applying AI in medicine… I have every confidence that together with our professors and employees, we will succeed.

Regardless of whether it's a favorite spot or an insider's culinary tip - what stands out at the JKU for you?
Elgin Drda: There are many beautiful areas at both the main JKU campus and at the JKU MED Campus. I especially like the JKU medLOFT located on the 9th floor of the administration building at the MED campus. I feel at home there and the view overlooking the impressive campus square surrounded by buildings at the Kepler University Hospital simply melts my heart. It is truly incredible and we have every reason to be proud of our accomplishments over the past 10 years.