Standing Committee

SCORE

Research Exchange

Research placements abroad for Thai students, Thai labs for incoming students, and research-skills events at home.

Type
Exchange program
Projects on record
16
Fields of work
8
Officers
NORE · NORE-Incoming · NORE-Outgoing · NORE-Assistant · VPX
Contact
nore@ifmsa-thailand.org

What it works on

  • International research exchange for medical students
  • Medical research education and research skills training (literature review, study design, statistics and data analysis)
  • Open science
  • Laboratory and clinical research placements
  • Research ethics
  • Academic quality assurance in exchange (logbooks, evaluation forms, tutor supervision)
  • Cultural exchange and hosting of international students
  • Capacity building and training of local exchange officers

How it works

  • Bilateral exchange contracts, quotas and documents
  • Quota bidding among local committees
  • National Round, national application and interview process to select outgoing students
  • LEO/LORE Weekend (LLW), annual training weekend for local exchange officers
  • Pre-Exchange / Pre-Departure Training (PET/PDT) for outgoing students
  • Upon-Arrival Training (UAT) for incoming students, at national and local level
  • National Social Program (NSP), two-day cultural trips for incoming students each July and August
  • Local Social Programs run by each local committee
  • Recruiting academic supervisors and opening new research projects on the IFMSA database
  • LC Activation, helping new medical schools become SCORE-active
  • Research-education webinars and skills workshops
  • Laboratory / research tours at Thai medical schools
  • Research hackathon
  • Public relations and recruitment via Instagram and Facebook, and exchange fairs at IFMSA international meetings
Who leads it

NORE — National Officers on Research Exchange: NORE-Incoming, NORE-Outgoing and NORE-Assistant, under the VPX

nore@ifmsa-thailand.org
On the record

16 projects on record.

  1. SCORE Research Exchange (National Round)

    Annual

    Thai medical students in years 1-6 apply nationally, are interviewed and ranked, and are placed in four-week research projects abroad.

  2. LEO/LORE Weekend (LLW)

    Annual

    Training weekend for new local exchange officers: selection, quota bidding, pre-departure and arrival training, and visa problems.

  3. Quota Bidding Session

    Annual, at LEO/LORE Weekend

    Each LC places chips matching its quota on a board of countries and months; contested countries go to a two-tier lottery.

  4. National Social Program (NSP)

    2023, 2024, 2025, 2026

    Two-day trips each July and August for incoming students: Kanchanaburi, Ayutthaya, Khao Yai, Amphawa, and Sattahip in 2026.

  5. Exploring Research Realities Webinar Series ("Webinar with Experts")

    2024

    Three expert webinars: Medical Education (23 March), Biosensors (12 May) and AI in Medical Research (23 June).

  6. Data Driven (Research Skills Workshop)

    2024

    Two-part research-skills workshop: Literature Review online (7 April) and Statistics & Data Analysis on-site (11 May).

  7. ReHackSearch

    2024

    A research hackathon at Siriraj: an online 101 session, then two on-site days, 20-21 July.

  8. Research Rookies

    2024

    Video lectures, then two workshop days where high-school and pre-clinical students develop and pitch a research idea with mentors. 500 THB.

  9. SCORE Research Tour (SCOTI x SCORE)

    2023 and 2024

    Lab tours with SCOTI: 16 August 2023, then Siriraj (28 August) and Ramathibodi (25 September) in 2024.

  10. Research Series

    2022-23

    Twice-monthly social-media summaries of research papers by clinical theme.

  11. AI Workshop

    2023

    Two expert panels, on ChatGPT in medicine and its ethics. Moved from 12 August to September.

  12. Rehabvolution

    2022-23

    An on-site Core Team project scheduled for mid-August.

  13. Ethics Committee event

    Proposed 2024

    Proposed for 2024.

  14. Research Catalyst

    Planned 2023

    A two-day event on rehabilitation, geriatrics and the microbiome, planned for September 2023. Not confirmed to have run.

  15. SCORE Virtual Exchange

    COVID-19 period

    An online stand-in for exchange during COVID-19: a case study on sustainability plus cultural sessions.

  16. ECRIP (English Course for Research and Publication)

    Undated

    A free online course in the technical English of research writing.

Where SCORE posts

Instagram@exchange.ifmsa_thailand Facebookexchangethailand

Two posts a month.

SCORE and SCOPE publish through one shared exchange account.

Worth knowing

  • Runs through local committees at 15 Thai medical schools (BM, BUU, CICM, CU, KKU, MSU, NU, PSCM, PSU, RA, RSU, SI, SWU, TU, UBU); the September 2025 LORE Briefing states 14 were SCORE-active at that point.
  • Exchange contracts distributed at quota bidding per season: 31 for 2023-24, 46 for 2024-25 (plus 10 for a national round), 45 for 2025-26 (plus 10) and 38 for 2026-27. Pre-COVID seasons carried 45-46 contracts, which fell to 20 in 2022-23.
  • The 2026-27 season's 38 contracts span 17 partner national member organisations, including Spain (5), Romania (5), Italy (4), Poland (3), Canada (two organisations, 2 each), Belgium, Czech Republic, Portugal, Greece, Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Germany, Taiwan and Egypt.
  • 27 Thai research projects were on the IFMSA database in the December 2025 project update sent to the SCORE Supervising Board, 26 confirmed unchanged and 1 removed.
  • Approved hosting projects for 2025-26 were spread across local committees as CU 6, SI 4, RA 3, PSCM 2, PSU 2, and one each at CICM, KKU, MSU, NU, RSU, SWU, TU and UBU.
  • Incoming-student trackers hold 65 application records for the 2025-26 season, 51 for 2024-25 and 44 for 2023-24.

Want to work with SCORE?

Write to the national officer, or start at your own Local Committee, if your medical school has one.

Email SCORE → How SCORE exchange works Enroll a project