Periodic Reporting for period 1 - GlobalP3HS (SSPH+ Global PhD Programme in Public Health Sciences)
Berichtszeitraum: 2018-10-01 bis 2020-09-30
GlobalP3HS is an innovative doctoral programme designed to competitively recruit exceptionally talented students from all over the world. Young scientists interested in proposing, learning, and performing cutting-edge research in public health sciences under the supervision of one of some 150 public health faculty members affiliated with one of the twelve universities that make up the Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+) are enrolled.
Public health is the science of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting human health through organised efforts and informed choices of society, organisations, public and private, communities and individuals. Thus, public health sciences are highly relevant to strengthening the knowledge of internal and external determinants of healthy ageing, morbidity and premature death to promote evidence-based health systems, community health, prevention, and health promotion while reducing health disparities. To respond to the societal challenges of matching biomedical progress with meeting the public’s health needs and operating within the resource constraints of health systems, public health sciences adopt interdisciplinary approaches and trans-disciplinary concepts. The field provides scientific evidence to policy makers, as well as, private and public stakeholders to foster the implementation and application of innovative research for better health.
GlobalP3HS strengthens the academic public health workforce – a need identified in many countries around the world. In particular, GlobalP3HS promotes the innovative “sandwich model” where students from low- or middle-income countries (LMIC), or from Eastern Europe, propose research relevant to their own countries. They come to Switzerland for their PhD, where they complete courses and are mentored in research, but they are co-supervised by a research partner in the LMIC. The students under this model return to their home countries for fieldwork and data collection during their studies. This model builds a stronger public health workforce, including having skilled researchers in countries where they are most needed to strengthen challenged health systems. This strategy aims for mutual capacity-building while fostering research collaborations beyond PhD studies, supporting career paths of those motivated to work in countries with limited resources, and combating health disparities.
Objectives:
- To build capacity in public health sciences on a global scale and to prepare students for academic as well as non-academic career paths. This can be achieved through the following secondary objectives:
- To competitively recruit 50 talented students from around the world to pursue PhD studies in the Global PhD Programme in Public Health Sciences (GlobalP3HS) of up to 42 months in Switzerland.
- To train the next generation of public health leaders in both the academic and non-academic sector as self-driven, critical public health scientists who are able to improve public health on a global scale by providing scientific evidence to shape policies, health systems, life-styles, economies, laws and regulations.
- Disseminate and exploit research results and outcomes generated under GlobalP3HS in both scientific (journals, conferences) and lay media.
Public health is the science of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting human health through organised efforts and informed choices of society, organisations, public and private, communities and individuals. Thus, public health sciences are highly relevant to strengthening the knowledge of internal and external determinants of healthy ageing, morbidity and premature death to promote evidence-based health systems, community health, prevention, and health promotion while reducing health disparities. To respond to the societal challenges of matching biomedical progress with meeting the public’s health needs and operating within the resource constraints of health systems, public health sciences adopt interdisciplinary approaches and trans-disciplinary concepts. The field provides scientific evidence to policy makers, as well as, private and public stakeholders to foster the implementation and application of innovative research for better health.
GlobalP3HS strengthens the academic public health workforce – a need identified in many countries around the world. In particular, GlobalP3HS promotes the innovative “sandwich model” where students from low- or middle-income countries (LMIC), or from Eastern Europe, propose research relevant to their own countries. They come to Switzerland for their PhD, where they complete courses and are mentored in research, but they are co-supervised by a research partner in the LMIC. The students under this model return to their home countries for fieldwork and data collection during their studies. This model builds a stronger public health workforce, including having skilled researchers in countries where they are most needed to strengthen challenged health systems. This strategy aims for mutual capacity-building while fostering research collaborations beyond PhD studies, supporting career paths of those motivated to work in countries with limited resources, and combating health disparities.
Objectives:
- To build capacity in public health sciences on a global scale and to prepare students for academic as well as non-academic career paths. This can be achieved through the following secondary objectives:
- To competitively recruit 50 talented students from around the world to pursue PhD studies in the Global PhD Programme in Public Health Sciences (GlobalP3HS) of up to 42 months in Switzerland.
- To train the next generation of public health leaders in both the academic and non-academic sector as self-driven, critical public health scientists who are able to improve public health on a global scale by providing scientific evidence to shape policies, health systems, life-styles, economies, laws and regulations.
- Disseminate and exploit research results and outcomes generated under GlobalP3HS in both scientific (journals, conferences) and lay media.
GlobalP3HS completed the two first phases: 1. The Call, 2. Evaluation and selection. The third phase - the implementation of the programme itself - is ongoing.
1. The Call was launched through national and international channels (SSPH+ networks and channels, EURAXESS, academic job portals) in three parts:
- Part 1: Open from 2 July to 12 October 2018. 279 applications (106 women, 173 men).
- Part 2: Open from 3 December 2018 to 1 February 2019. 135 applications (65 women, 70 men).
- Part 3: Open from 1 April to 28 June 2019. 184 applications (76 women, 108 men).
2. For each deadline, an evaluation and selection process was initiated. Complete applications were reviewed by an International Review Board, scoring applications on a scale of 0 - 10, based on four dimensions (1. background and motivation of the student; 2. innovation and methodological quality of the proposal; 3. public health relevance of the proposed research; and 4. feasibility of study in the context of a 42-month PhD thesis). The Steering Board selected the best candidates (scores ≥8) to enter the next step after the selection phase, i.e. the matching process.
3. Implementation phase:
Between 1 October 2018 and 30 September 2020, 52 students enrolled in the programme, of which 5 dropped out in their first year of studies. As a result, 47 students are enrolled in the GlobalP3HS as of 30 September 2020 (month 24). Two remaining candidates are accepted and in the process of enrolling at the university. There are 27 female and 20 male fellows. Thirty students are enrolled under the default model and 17 as Sandwich Model Researchers. There are 30 nationalities represented in the pool of fellows and 38 students come from a low-middle income country.
The fellows are enrolled at 7 different Swiss universities, all partners of SSPH+, performing research at 14 different institutions affiliated to those universities. All students are registered in a structured PhD programme at their local university and at the SSPH+ Inter-university Graduate Campus (IGC), providing access to courses from all SSPH+ partner universities.
A workshop for both students and their supervisor was organised to collect feedback on the initial phases of the programme, and formulate answers to any questions or issues reported.
Fellows submitted and presented abstracts or posters, and attended the Swiss Public Health Conferences 2019 and 2020, the SSPH+ annual meeting 2019 and 2020, and other international public health conferences. Four students participated in the communication training (SSPH+ ScienceFlashTalk).
1. The Call was launched through national and international channels (SSPH+ networks and channels, EURAXESS, academic job portals) in three parts:
- Part 1: Open from 2 July to 12 October 2018. 279 applications (106 women, 173 men).
- Part 2: Open from 3 December 2018 to 1 February 2019. 135 applications (65 women, 70 men).
- Part 3: Open from 1 April to 28 June 2019. 184 applications (76 women, 108 men).
2. For each deadline, an evaluation and selection process was initiated. Complete applications were reviewed by an International Review Board, scoring applications on a scale of 0 - 10, based on four dimensions (1. background and motivation of the student; 2. innovation and methodological quality of the proposal; 3. public health relevance of the proposed research; and 4. feasibility of study in the context of a 42-month PhD thesis). The Steering Board selected the best candidates (scores ≥8) to enter the next step after the selection phase, i.e. the matching process.
3. Implementation phase:
Between 1 October 2018 and 30 September 2020, 52 students enrolled in the programme, of which 5 dropped out in their first year of studies. As a result, 47 students are enrolled in the GlobalP3HS as of 30 September 2020 (month 24). Two remaining candidates are accepted and in the process of enrolling at the university. There are 27 female and 20 male fellows. Thirty students are enrolled under the default model and 17 as Sandwich Model Researchers. There are 30 nationalities represented in the pool of fellows and 38 students come from a low-middle income country.
The fellows are enrolled at 7 different Swiss universities, all partners of SSPH+, performing research at 14 different institutions affiliated to those universities. All students are registered in a structured PhD programme at their local university and at the SSPH+ Inter-university Graduate Campus (IGC), providing access to courses from all SSPH+ partner universities.
A workshop for both students and their supervisor was organised to collect feedback on the initial phases of the programme, and formulate answers to any questions or issues reported.
Fellows submitted and presented abstracts or posters, and attended the Swiss Public Health Conferences 2019 and 2020, the SSPH+ annual meeting 2019 and 2020, and other international public health conferences. Four students participated in the communication training (SSPH+ ScienceFlashTalk).
GlobalP3HS aims to build capacity while generating new insights through scientific doctoral research. The programme is on track to achieve this through an innovative approach for doctoral training.
1. Capacity building:
- We anticipate the graduation of about 49 fellows, of which 19 under the Sandwich model. The latter are building sustainable north-south collaborations between Swiss academic institutions and institutions in 14 LMICs.
- The SSPH+ IGC provides a unique training and networking environment to the fellows. It covers a breadth in specific disciplines in public health sciences, all multidisciplinary educational needs, that can’t be offered by single institutions. This allows fellows to construct a tailored training path from hundreds of courses, including those on transferable skills and competencies such as the mandatory course in ethical research conduct.
- Secondments in non-academic organisations allow GlobalP3HS graduates to explore postdoctoral non-academic career tracks in Switzerland or abroad (e.g. in governmental or non-governmental institutions, industries and science management organisations).
2. Dissemination of research:
- The research on 49 different public health topics is and will be further disseminated and exploited, both through scientific and lay media. This way. the programme outputs can directly feed further research, policies, and inform the society.
- GlobalP3HS fellows have contributed in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic through the SSPH+ COVID-19 platform, an exchange forum between Swiss public health experts and policy makers.
1. Capacity building:
- We anticipate the graduation of about 49 fellows, of which 19 under the Sandwich model. The latter are building sustainable north-south collaborations between Swiss academic institutions and institutions in 14 LMICs.
- The SSPH+ IGC provides a unique training and networking environment to the fellows. It covers a breadth in specific disciplines in public health sciences, all multidisciplinary educational needs, that can’t be offered by single institutions. This allows fellows to construct a tailored training path from hundreds of courses, including those on transferable skills and competencies such as the mandatory course in ethical research conduct.
- Secondments in non-academic organisations allow GlobalP3HS graduates to explore postdoctoral non-academic career tracks in Switzerland or abroad (e.g. in governmental or non-governmental institutions, industries and science management organisations).
2. Dissemination of research:
- The research on 49 different public health topics is and will be further disseminated and exploited, both through scientific and lay media. This way. the programme outputs can directly feed further research, policies, and inform the society.
- GlobalP3HS fellows have contributed in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic through the SSPH+ COVID-19 platform, an exchange forum between Swiss public health experts and policy makers.