There are 3 specific objectives (obj):
- i) Develop curricula and deliver new courses on priority GH topics: Six new training courses on major GH topics, prioritized by Partner HEIs and national PH agencies of Georgia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, will be developed collaboratively by thematic groups comprising representatives from each of the Partner HEIs and mentors from Heidelberg University Institute of Global Health (HIGH). These 6 courses will be integrated into all 7 Partner HEIs’ academic programmes. Training will be provided to 3 faculty members from each Partner HEI. This will ensure that nominated Partner HEI representatives have the technical knowledge and pedagogical skills to effectively develop and deliever the courses and catalyse the growth and excellence of new centres of GH. Students enrolled in master and doctoral level PH programmes and non-health academic programmes (e.g. international relations, journalism, environomental science) will participate in the GH courses. The GH content will also be delivered via two EECA Regional GH Academy events as stand-alone intensive study programs for Partner HEI and PH agency staff.
- ii) Develop curricula and deliver accredited new courses on GH research methods at the seven Partner HEIs: Three new courses on GH reseaerch methods, prioritized by the partner HEIs and national PH agencies of Georgia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, will be developed collaboratively by a cross-institutional working group comprising representatives from each of the Partner HEIs and mentors from the University of Tromsø (UiT). Training and mentoring will be provided to 2 faculty members from each of the Partner HEIs to enable this. The courses will then be delivered to students enrolled in Partner HEIs’ PH master and doctoral programmes.
iii) Establish the Eastern Europe/Central Asia (EECA) Regional Alliance for Global Health: This alliance will serve as an institutional mechanism for regional collaboration, knowledge exchange, training and research on priority GH issues; its formation and operation will be supported by University of Bergen (UiB) and Tbilisi Institute of Global Health (TIOGH). All participant universities will be the Alliance’s founding members. Membership will also be offered to other HEIs from the EECA region – including 13 HEIs who have expressed an interest in joining such an alliance at a regional meeting organized by TIOGH in 2019. National PH agencies of Georgia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine have also expressed interest to join the Alliance, and PH agencies of other EECA countries will be also proactively approached to join.The Alliance will organize annual meetings to provide a platform for discussions and experience-sharing among the members on scaling up GH teaching and research across the EECA region.
Kazakhstan:
Lack of GH-relevant skills and knowledge among faculty staff is recognised as a barrier to establishing the GH discipline within AMU and KazNu. AMU do not offer a GH component and do not have the skills to do so. KazNu offer a graduate level course entitled ‘Introduction to GH’, but they have a deficit of trained staff to scale-up this to provide specialized GH courses as part of their masters/PhD programmes. Objs 1 and 2 will directly address this need – providing training in technical GH issues and research methods and then enabling trained faculty staff to develop curricula which they will then implement within their institutions.
Needs analysis highlighted that the Kazakh HEIs are currently unable to produce educational materials to support the new courses (case studies, course exercises etc). The pedagogical training received in Obj 1 will equip staff with the necessary associated skills and sufficient material so that they can effectively run the courses. The enhanced ability to conduct research (Obj 2) and work collaboratively and internationally on GH topics (Obj 3) will ensure that staff can continue to build on their knowledge and their bank of relevant course-informing materials.
In the long-term, all Partner HEIs acknowledge the need to develop a joint regional masters program on global health, which can be jointly offered by multiple EECA universities. The three participating countries from different Geographical parts of the EECA region (Eastern Europe, South Caucasus, Central Asia) are well placed to become the base for this. Therefore, the capacity built and partnerships established will provide the fundamental basis upon which effective collaboration will become possible beyond the project.