Nossal-Usher collaboration in global health education

With global demographic patterns shifting to a greater proportion of older people in populations across the world, healthy ageing is an issue of key global concern and has provided the perfect opportunity to invest in a global collaboration between leading Universities in the Southern and Northern hemispheres.

Nossal Institute for Global Health and the Usher Institute (University of Edinburgh) have collaborated for the past four years, on the design and delivery of a master’s course – Global Challenges in Healthy Ageing. Over ten weeks the online course explores critical issues at the nexus of healthy ageing and global level challenges, including: ageism, elder abuse, social determinants of healthy ageing, multimorbidity, dementia, age-friendly environments, data systems and long-term care.

The course is part of the postgraduate certificate in Global Heath Challenges, and is open to both University of Melbourne and University of Edinburgh students. The course is equal to a standard Master of Public Health elective in terms of its accreditation. Showcasing the work and experience of 28 global experts, this course engages with the complexity of global challenges of healthy ageing. This community of educators’ effort supports the interdisciplinary approach that the Decade of Healthy Ageing seeks to promote and reinforces the importance of taking into account multiple perspectives. Our cross-institutional collaboration has involved recognition and resolution of challenges embedded in developing and delivering global health education to a global population.

This completely online course has provided the opportunity to engage with students situated in every continent, and from a diverse range of professional backgrounds including public health, education, international development, finance, professional sports and activism. Our understanding of ‘who counts’ as a global health learner, and who can engage as a global health educator, has expanded through our experience in this unique learning context. With recent calls to expand university education through curriculum collaboration with other institutions, the Nossal-Usher collaboration provides a successful example for similar projects to draw upon.

As we continue to collaborate and build on this initiative, we are committed to working with communities and other partners to advance healthy ageing practices globally.

Campbell McKay is the Global Health Stream Coordinator at the Nossal Institute for Global Health and Course Coordinator for Global Challenges in Healthy Ageing. He works across the spectrum of global health education delivery including program coordination, curriculum development, learning design and teaching.