The International Summer School in Global Health 2024 Concludes with High Participation and Diversity

From 16 to 20 September 2024, ISGlobal hosted the International Summer School in Global Health 2024, the first edition of the Summer School offered under the institution’s second Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence designation. Thanks to the support of the Severo Ochoa grant, ISGlobal could offer the program at no cost to all participants.

This year's Summer School attracted 1,141 students from 94 countries, with 95% international participants and over 80% from low and middle-income countries (LMICs). Approximately 26% of the participants had previously attended one of ISGlobal's Spring or Summer Schools, and almost half (535 participants) earned at least one certificate by completing the modules offered in this edition.

Giulia Pollarolo, Severo Ochoa Programme Manager and Summer School Coordinator, emphasized the importance of this initiative in building international connections: "After four years of Summer and Spring Schools, we are happy to see how these programmes have served as a platform to create lasting, global networks among participants - networks that go far beyond the modules we offer and will hopefully lead to exchanges and collaborations around the world."

New academic offerings and expert-led sessions

This edition of the Summer School featured a blend of new and established courses. Two new modules were introduced: Creating Citizen Science Projects and Extracellular Vesicles in Pathogen Infections. These new offerings were complemented by courses that have been a Summer and Spring Schools staple for years. Additionally, participants were invited to attend a keynote address by Quique Bassat, Director General of ISGlobal, and a special webinar on publishing in environmental health journals led by ISGlobal researchers Payam Dadvand and Mark Nieuwenhuijsen.

Reflecting on the academic experience, Davide Rasella, co-coordinator of the Health Impact Assessment module, remarked, “We have successfully taught the basic principles of Health Impact Assessment to a broad, non-specialist audience from around the world. We hope this serves as a starting point for professionals who wish to apply HIA in their own countries and interventions.”

A Commitment to Accessible, High-Quality Learning

The 2024 International Summer School in Global Health reaffirms ISGlobal's commitment to providing accessible, high-quality learning opportunities for a diverse global community. By bridging knowledge gaps and fostering international collaboration, ISGlobal continues to play a vital role in training the next generation of global health professionals.