Vitebsk State Medical University (hereinafter – VSMU, the university) has developed a comprehensive system of ideological and educational work.

Ideological and educational activities are carried out in accordance with the Education Code of the Republic of Belarus, the Concept of Continuous Education for Children and Youth, the Program of Continuous Education for Children and Youth in the Republic of Belarus for 2021–2025, the State Program “Education and Youth Policy” for 2021–2025, the Strategy for the Development of State Youth Policy of the Republic of Belarus until 2030, the Educational Program of VSMU for 2021–2025, other normative legal acts, as well as additional internal documents of VSMU. These activities are aimed at implementing the main principles and provisions of the state policy of the Republic of Belarus.

Overall management and control of ideological and educational work at VSMU are carried out by the university rector and the vice-rector for ideological and educational work. Deans and vice-deans for ideological and educational work are responsible for implementing these activities at the faculties, while heads of departments and officers in charge of ideological and educational work oversee them at the departmental level.

The Department of Ideological and Educational Work (hereinafter – the Department) is a structural unit of the university that, within its competence and in cooperation with other structural units, implements the state policy in the fields of Belarusian state ideology, education, and upbringing.

To provide scientific, methodological, and informational support for ideological and educational work, the university’s Ideological Center operates within the Department of Social and Humanitarian Sciences.

Information and propaganda work holds a special place at Vitebsk State Order of the Friendship of Peoples Medical University (VSMU). Thirteen information and propaganda groups operate within the university. To ensure timely communication with the university staff and students, a Unified Information Day is held on the third Thursday of each month. The VSMU Ideological Center, within the Department of Social and Humanitarian Sciences, ensures the participation of faculty members in the work of the university’s information and propaganda groups and in the organization of the Unified Information Days.

One of the directions of ideological and educational work at the university is the active use of information technologies in the educational process. VSMU operates a Media Center, which promotes the university in the media space (as of September 1, 2025, the number of subscribers exceeds 4,000). Special attention is paid to regularly updating the official university website with informational materials on various activities. Information support for ideological and educational processes is provided through mass media, the university newspaper Medvuzovets, the official VSMU website, and social media platforms. To develop the youth information space and popularize state youth policy online, information is regularly updated on the website http://www.vsmu.by, as well as on the official VSMU and faculty pages on the social networks VKontakte, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

The university has established a curatorship system. To provide methodological and practical support for organizing and conducting educational work, enhance professional skills, and share the best practices, a Methodical Association of Group Curators has been created. Its main goal is to contribute to the development of extracurricular ideological, educational, and informational activities within the groups they supervise.

VSMU carries out extensive work through a range of projects aimed at close interaction among all public associations and organizations within the university.

The university hosts trade union organizations for staff and students, primary organizations of the Belarusian Republican Youth Union (BRSM), the Belarusian Union of Women, the Belarusian public association Belaya Rus, the Belarusian Red Cross Society, and the VSMU Veterans’ Association. University staff, led by the rector, are also members of the Oktyabrsky District branch of the Belarusian political party Belaya Rusin Vitebsk.

During extracurricular activities, ideological and educational work with students is carried out by staff of the Department of Ideological and Educational Work and the student campus, as well as by employees of the sports and student clubs.

VSMU provides all necessary conditions for students to develop their creative abilities, maintain their health, and participate in physical education, wellness, and sports activities.

The Sports Club hosts 21 sports sections covering 16 types of sports: sports aerobics, arm wrestling, basketball (men’s and women’s), volleyball (men’s and women’s), table tennis, kettlebell lifting, all-around competition “Health,” mini-football (men’s and women’s), athletics, cross-country skiing, swimming, orienteering, chess, boxing, judo, and badminton, as well as 12 health-oriented groups. University teams are formed from these sports sections to participate in competitions at various levels (more than 60 competitions annually).VSMU has repeatedly been the winner of the Spartakiad of medical higher education institutions of the Republic of Belarus, the regional Spartakiad of healthcare workers, and the Republican contest for the best organization of physical education, wellness, and sports activities for students. Each year, the university hosts more than 50 sports and wellness events.

At the university’s Student Club, 19 creative groups and interest-based associations operate, two of which were established in 2025: the contemporary choreography group Natkhnenne and the vocal ensemble MovaZor. More than 300 students regularly participate in these groups and associations.Annually, the Student Club organizes around 70 concerts, competitions, and cultural events of various levels, including the newly reformatted festivals Student Autumn at VSMUandStudent Spring at VSMU; the Mister VSMU and Miss VSMU contests; concert programs dedicated to state holidays of the Republic of Belarus; charity events for children’s institutions in the city and region; the cultural and sports festival Maslenitsa; and events celebrating state symbols of Belarus, Knowledge Day, National Unity Day, VSMU’s anniversary, International Day of Older Persons, and others.

An integral part of the educational process at VSMU is work within the dormitories. The university owns eight comfortable dormitories, providing favorable conditions for living, studying, developing potential abilities, and creative self-expression for all residents. These dormitories are equipped with reading rooms, fitness rooms, and recreation areas.