Virtual Visitor Program

Virtual Visitor Program

Melbourne Health Economics, Centre for Health Policy
University of Melbourne

Virtual Visitors Program

Overview

Melbourne Health Economics (MHE) has established a Virtual Visitor Program to support PhD students and early career researchers from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to participate online, free of charge, in our academic activities.

The first round of the program (2023–2024) resulted in sustained research collaborations and multiple academic outputs. For example, a study on out-of-pocket costs and financial catastrophe of patients with cancer in Bangladesh, led by Dr Abdur Sarker at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), in collaboration with Associate Professor An Duy Tran at MHE, has been published in the International Journal of Equity in Health. Other collaborative projects focus on cost-effectiveness of automated insulin delivery systems for individuals with type 1 diabetes; catastrophic health expenditures and medical impoverishment; the costs of kidney dialysis; and the relationship between health-related quality of life and productivity loss.

Virtual visitors also reported substantial benefits from engaging with MHE, including improved research skills and the development of new research directions. Building on this success, we are launching the second round, focused on virtual visitors based in LMICs in Asia, for a six‑month period in 2026.

What the program offers

During engagement period, virtual visitors will be able to:

  • Attend workshops, seminars and online short courses delivered by the Melbourne Health Economics (MHE)
  • Meet the team and explore opportunities for mentoring and research collaboration
  • Present their work and receive feedback in our Work-in-Progress Seminar series
  • Receive guidance to apply for competitive PhD or early career scholarships at the University of Melbourne.
Eligibility

Applicants must:

  • Be an academic staff member with experience in doing health economic research at a university or not-for-profit research institute in a LMIC (defined by World Bank) in Asia
  • Hold a Master’s degree or higher in Economics, Health Economics, Health Care Management, Public Health, or Health Services Research
  • Have reliable internet access suitable for video meetings
  • Demonstrate fluency in English (for example, IELTS overall score 6.5+; internet-based TOEFL test score 81+, or having completed a full-time Master program where 100% of classes were English)
Application requirements

To apply, please submit the following:

  • Cover letter (maximum one page) describing your motivation to be a virtual visitor and your vision for future collaboration with Melbourne Health Economics
  • Curriculum vitae (maximum two pages)
  • One example of a research output related to health economics, such as an academic paper, a report or a thesis chapter that you have authored

Please combine all documents into a single PDF file named: "[FirstName]_[Surname]_Application" and email it to: health-economics@unimelb.edu.au with the subject line: “Virtual Visitor Program Application” by 30 April 2026.

Applicants whose research interests and outputs align closely with Melbourne Health Economics’ research areas will be given priority (see the Melbourne Health Economics website for details of our current research).

Planned activities

While specific activities for this round will be confirmed closer to the start date, planned activities include:

  • Online workshop “Decision Analytic Modelling in R”, provided by Associate Professor An Duy Tran (June 2026).
  • Webinar “Methods for analysing healthcare resource use and costs”, provided by Dr Li Huang (August 2026)
Enquiries

For more information or inquiries, please contact:

Associate Professor An Duy Tran, Program Lead, Virtual Visitor Program

Email: an.tran@unimelb.edu.au