Susan, tell us your day job as a teacher and senior manager, sites you’re based and department that you work in.
I am a Teaching Fellow with GHID (Global Health and Infectious Diseases) which is in the Deanery of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Edinburgh and we are based at George Square in central Edinburgh. I contribute to both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching (design, delivery, assessment and feedback) on a number of courses, both online and in person. Every day is different, sometimes I’m teaching in a classroom, sometimes online and other times I’m marking or preparing for classes. My students can be very different too; teaching first year students is about an introduction to academia, learning about critical thinking, how to research and writing skills, whereas my postgraduate students usually already have a degree and are employed so my role is different with them. I have the privilege to work with a talented team who come from a variety of different backgrounds including midwifery and veterinary medicine, this blend makes our office a very interesting and vibrant place to work, and one where I’m constantly learning.
My background before teaching was in corporate business, leading teams, project managing and marketing communications. I moved sectors into teaching 12 years ago, but I still continue to provide business and marketing consultancy. I enjoy variety and I’m curious, so working in two very different fields, with different people challenges me and lets me see that there are many different ways to approach problems. I learn all the time, as much as my students do.
Susan, tell us what area of global health you have been involved in, partnership country, organisation/affiliation.
I am the course organiser for Project Management of Development Aid, and I am a support tutor on a range of courses for example Global Citizenship, Neglected Tropical Diseases, Water and Sanitation, Our Changing World, Sexually Transmitted Disease and Travel Medicine. Our teaching team are very proud of the diverse range of courses we offer. We continually research and update our content to ensure our teaching reflects current global health issues. The online courses are part of a programme where working professionals can study part-time online for a postgraduate certificate, postgraduate diploma or Masters in Global Health and Infectious Disease.
Our students are incredible people from all over the world who tend to be employed as doctors, nurses, vets, scientists or clinicians, which means that any group work pulls on a wide range of experience and cultures. We commonly have students who study whilst they are on secondment or working overseas to give them something to focus on when they are away from home. Often, they are working for charities or organisations in the field, dealing with the aftereffects of disasters or as part of a development teams delivering aid. We’ve had students from Medicine Sans Frontiers, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the US army (while managing emergency evacuations!) it is really rewarding to help them achieve their qualification. This brings a unique perspective to any course, and we aim, as teachers to their support learning. It is an exciting collaboration, and I am often in awe of what students can achieve under the most difficult circumstances.
Susan, you are also involved in three global online courses. Can you tell us about these? Who usually signs up for them and what do these courses help to do within the bigger global health picture?
The suite of GHID courses are designed to provide flexibility in the types of qualifications offered and the range of topics that students can select. In addition to the ones that I already mentioned above, we also have Emerging Infectious Disease, Zoonotic Disease, Reproductive and Maternal Health. Some students may want to learn more about the field they already work in, others choose to learn something different to widen their knowledge. Often, we have health care professionals who aim to work in the third sector so they may undertake study in addition to voluntary work. As you can see the courses relate to some of the main health challenges and issues the world faces. Looking at three global citizenship courses specifically…
Our Changing World is an undergraduate course that I really enjoy. We know our world is fragile and volatile, we explore topics such as food security we look at current and emerging issues. Food security means different things to different people, for example malnutrition, food poverty or obesity. This course provides a platform for students to learn from each other, to listen to different perspectives, share ideas and problem solve.
Global Citizenship this course is often the first time that students have thought about what it means to be a global citizen, and what does citizenship mean to them. It is incredibly interesting to explore how citizenship filters through education and social systems throughout the world. We look at power and equality, and the effectiveness of mechanisms in place to promote global citizenship for example United Nations, Sustainable Development Goals, World Health Organisation and the World Bank.
Project Management of Development Aid provides both theoretical and practical experience of applying for and managing a development aid project. Students overcome real life project management problems, for example working together in different time zones to complete a development aid grant application. Applying for development aid is a hugely competitive and precise task with funders expecting specific criteria. The projects that students develop and nurture through this course are credible and exclusive to that particular teams’ experience and interests.
Susan, you have a fantastic 3 decades corporate experience in project management. This experience must’ve given you many skills and much knowledge that helps in delivering online global courses. Can you tell us some of these skills and how they have been useful within your teaching role?
Yes, when I look back, I have worked with a lot of different people solving problems and delivering results. Having good people skills, organisation skills and communication skills work in any setting but thinking about a couple of specific things that I think are transferrable and I know work in teaching. I see the value in taking time to build foundations and connect people because I know this impacts in the quality of results and the overall experience of our time together on a project or in a class. I take time with ice breakers and introductions so that I learn about where people come from and what their aspirations are, then I can tailor what we do. That is the exciting bit, you never know how a class will go or how a topic will go do down, but when it works exceptionally well, you have noise, participation, enthused body language and faces, and maybe even some laughter, it is thrilling…a bit like playing at an arena I would imagine.
One of the concepts that I take from business to a medical environment is VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) It describes the situation of leadership in times of constant and unpredictable change. Given the last few years which we all experienced, volatility has become our norm, I hope that I can help build resilience and confidence to help student with whatever they go on to do.
Susan, if you were to undertake a volunteer role within Global Health, is there an area that would be of most interest?
Well if you are giving me a wish list, at the moment I would like to have a role where I go and bang heads together to stop pointless war and destruction because the impact on health, particularly children’s health is so distressing to watch. Sadly, I don’t have medical skills to make a difference, but I do have organisational skills so I tend to offer these skills. Recently I’ve done voluntary work at a local level in Edinburgh with a cancer charity and I’m also helping a social regeneration project in Scotland. I’m very much learning about working in the third sector and enjoying doing something new. Who knows where this knowledge will lead in future.
Susan, what insights and understanding do you feel you have personally gained from being involved in Global Health within your teaching roles?
I would say I am more globally conscious, and less UK focussed from teaching in a global health setting. I see that the impact of action or intervention in one country can have an impact elsewhere and the ripples can be positive and negative. I learn something new from every student group and each course. I appreciate that there are amazing things happening all over the world, for example to combat climate change, or to support people in natural disasters and to improve outcomes for people. Technology can be a huge communication enabler for sharing ideas and information for the good of humanity and access is getting easier wherever you are in the world. Humans supporting other humans, ingenuity and innovation in action, solving problems are what we do. When we all pull in the right direction we can spotlight issues that need help, we can influence funding and make health outcomes much better for people. It is very rewarding to see past students get promotions or new exciting jobs on platforms such as LinkedIn, it’s really great to see them do well.
Susan, are there many students who undertake the online courses involved directly with global health work?
Yes, by far the majority of our students work in health care. I find our discussion boards absolutely fascinating. For example, on our water and sanitation course recently, it is something very special when you have a nurse from Alaska and a paediatrician from Uganda sharing their individual sanitation problems when trying to provide health care. Both are trying to deliver safe healthcare under very different circumstances. These kinds of interactions go much further than textbooks. In those kinds of instances, to a large extent we as teachers sit on the side, we facilitate, but they very much learn from each other.
Susan, what benefits do you feel Edinburgh University Medical students and staff gain from gained from having a department and tutors that are involved in and have knowledge in global health topics?
In their future workplace, (whichever sector, whichever role they choose) students will work with a variety of stakeholders whether it be colleagues, patients, funders, media, legislators etc. so being exposed to a diverse class cohort, having teachers and staff from diverse backgrounds blends lots of different ideas and experience together. Overseas students are encouraged to share their ideas and knowledge, everyone brings something to the pot of ideas. This holistic approach, with two way learning has many advantages for study and work. Having a global focus breaks down barriers and helps to build a network and a potential toolbox of solutions. Having a large ‘go to’ of knowledge sources and contacts makes you a very valuable asset. If you need resources whether that is people, knowledge, funding or ideas, having a global health perspective means your pool is an ocean.
