Thumbs-up to the First Edition of the Senior Executive Program in Global Health Innovation Management

The fourth and last module of the International Senior Executive Program for Global Health Innovation Management (SEP GHIM) was held in Barcelona, from October 7 to 10. The program is funded by EIT Health and organised by ISGlobal together with the Heidelberg Institute of Global Health (HIGH) and the IESE, INCAE and Strathmore business schools. Twenty trainees from 13 different countries in Africa, America, Asia and Europe participated in this first edition; more than half were women entrepreneurs.

“The program is unique because of its innovative format, with four short and intensive modules in different institutions and countries, addressed to professionals that wish to lead innovation in global health, and allowing them to share experiences with entrepreneurs and professionals from three different continents,” explains Nuria Casamitjana, ISGlobal’s Training and Education Director and co-coordinator of the course on behalf of the institution, together with Marina Espriu, responsible of the transfer area in the innovation department.  

The programme uses a participative methodology based on experiences of the faculty and the participants, including case studies presented by the entrepreneurs themselves, field trips to see innovative initiatives, and an executive challenge in which the participants, guided by faculty members, presented their own challenge. The fourth module, organised at the IESE campus in Barcelona, was centred on the art of implementation. The other three modules were held in Heidelberg (Germany), Alajuela (Costa Rica), and Nairobi (Kenya). 

“The feedback from the trainees has been very positive,” says Espriu. “They have greatly appreciated the large diversity in content and its multidisciplinarity, as well as the capacity to anticipate new tendencies and opportunities in global health and to connect with a network of health leaders. They also valued highly the opportunity of developing, presenting and discussing their own executive challenge,” she adds.  Casamitjana confirms that they are already preparing the next programme edition for 2020.   

The course’s goal is to foster entrepreneurship and innovation in global health through training of senior professionals from different backgrounds including academia, pharmaceutical industry, hospitals, multilateral organisations, and start-ups.