University of Global Health Equity: The Medical School That Chose the Countryside

This webinar is a part of an Innovative Universities Webinar Series.

The University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) is a private, non-profit health sciences university in Rwanda, founded by Partners In Health with the government of Rwanda in 2015. UGHE's campus is in Butaro, a rural district in the northern hills. The premise is that immersive training will make doctors' work more relevant for local communities. There's also a community-based education approach which immerses students directly in community settings alongside patients, community health workers, and local activists.

Does locating a university in a rural district actually change where its graduates end up? Can an institution founded by a delivery organization stay a university rather than becoming a training arm? Can UGHE become a benchmark for global health education in lower-income countries? We will discuss this and more with Professor Abebe Bekele, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Academic and Research Affairs and Founding Dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Global Health Equity.

Speakers

Abebe Bekele, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Academic and Research Affairs and Founding Dean of the School of Medicine

Abebe Bekele, MD, PhD, is Deputy Vice Chancellor of Academic and Research Affairs and Founding Dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) in Rwanda. He has served as the CEO of the Black Lion Teaching Hospital and Dean of the School of Medicine at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. He is a Full Professor of Surgery (General and Thoracic Surgery) and holds full professorial faculty positions at UGHE, Addis Ababa University, and the University of Rwanda, as well as a full professorship in global health at Duke University in the USA.

Professor Abebe is the Secretary General of the College of Surgeons of East Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA). He is the Editor-in-Chief of the East and Central Africa Journal of Surgery and sits on the editorial board of the JAMA Health Forum, BMC Medical Education, and the Ethiopian Medical Journal. He is also the founder and the secretary-general of the Consortium of Medical Schools of Africa (COMSA). Professor Abebe is actively engaged in Global Safe Surgery and has served as a senior advisor to the Federal Ministry of Health of Ethiopia on the Saving Lives Through Safe Surgery initiative.

Hosts

Prof. Dr. Isak Frumin

"We designed the 'Innovative Universities' global webinar not merely as conversation, but a one-of-a-kind assembly of forward-thinking scholars poised to reshape the educational landscape. This isn't just about what's new; it's about what's next.”

Dara Melnyk

"Currently, there are no seminars exclusively devoted to innovation in higher education. We want to change that. Our webinar series are meant to give both creators of unusual institutions and idea collectors like us a space to discuss what's possible."

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