Health Equity : Environmental Troubles and Inequities

Who?

Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne

When?

18-22 August 2025

Where?

UNIL campus, Switzerland

For whom?

Doctoral and Master’s students, particularly in the fields of health and public health, social and political sciences and social work.
Health, public health and global health professionals (limited places)

How much?

CHF 400.- (Students)
CHF 500.- (Professionals) Limited places
CHF 300.- (Online participation)  Open only to students living outside the European continent

Credits?

3 ECTS, Certificate of Attendance delivered

Language?

English

Organised by Prof. Patrick Bodenmann, Evelyne Hangartner, Léa Grosjean, Gregor Meschenmoser from the University of Lausanne.

Speakers : 

Adèle Zufferey
Dr Anne Jachmann
Prof. Carole Clair
Erika Placella
Prof. Joachim Marti
Dr Joëlle Schwartz
Dr Katharine Darling
Kevin Dzi
Dr Kevin Morisod
Prof. Matthias Cavassini
Prof. Mauricio Avendano
Prof. Sir Michael Marmot
Dr Nicole Valentine
Dr Nolwenn Bühler
Dr Raphaël Bize
Dr Véronique Grazioli

• Doctoral and Master’s students, particularly in the fields of health and public health, social and political sciences and social work.
• Health, public health and global health professionals (limited places).

The summer school intend to:

• Give the students the theoretical foundations of the concept of health equity;
• Provide participants with an in-depth reflection on key health equity issues;
• Motivate students to develop their own health equity research project;
• Allow exchanges with influential and recognized professors of the field.

Participants will get 3 ECTS for their participation, along with a certificate of attendance

In order to encourage the participation of a greater number of people, the school will take place in a hybrid format combining face-to-face and distance learning with zoom sessions.

Each day of the Summer School will address a specific theme: socio-economic determinants of health, discrimination, migration, prison and the infectious threats.

The day will be structured in such a way as to deal with each of these themes through a reading grid composed of 4 levels: academic, political, health system and society. 

Online participation is limited to students living outside the European continent. For more information, please contact us by email.

3 ECTS can be earned by satisfying the following requirements:  

• preparatory reading for the lectures;
• mandatory attendance to all the lectures during the summer school;
• oral presentation with visual support of 20 minutes at the end of the Summer School, on a theme dealt with during the week;
• written production of a 6-10 pages research paper. This research paper must fall within one of the themes addressed during the Summer School. It will be handed in the month following the end of the Summer School and will be evaluated by the teaching team.

A preliminary programme will be published soon.

CHF 400.- 
CHF 500.- (Professionals)
CHF 300.- (Online participation, open only to students living outside the European continent)

This amount includes :

• Tuition fees
• Lunches and coffee breaks
• A welcome apéritif and a closing dinner
• A visit to low-threshold structures

Please note that accommodation is not covered by the fees.

You can apply online, by clicking on the blue button below. Your application should include:

1. A CV, with your academic records
2. A motivation letter

When your application is complete, please click the checkbox under “Application status” on the course registration page and change it to “Submitted”. It will be reviewed and we will confirm the successful pre-registration as soon as possible. 

The deadline for application is 18 June 2025.

The Solidarity Scholarships aim at supporting students who would not be able to cover summer schools’ costs in full. The selected candidates will see their tuition fees as well as their travel, accommodation and meals costs covered. Depending on each candidate’s situation, a financial support may be added to partially cover other expenses during the stay. The application deadline is 1st May 2025. 

To be eligible, candidates must:

• Be currently enrolled in a higher education institution located in an ODA recipient country ;
• Have successfully applied to the school they wish to attend;
• Be able to attend the entire school;
• Require external financial support to be able to attend the school;
• Have obtained excellent academic results;
• Be covered by health insurance for the duration of the school.

Candidates who wish to apply for the Solidarity Scholarship must first sign up for one of the summer schools. Once registered, candidates will receive the link to the online form to apply for the scholarship. Along with personal and academic information, the following documents will be requested (to be submitted in French or English):

• Full curriculum vitae;
• Motivation letter, with connections between the summer school and your academic goals as well as information regarding the necessity of a financial support;
• Proof of residency (such as a copy of your lease, an official invoice with your address indicated or other official documents) ;
• Copy of university degree certificate with final grade(s);
• Proof of current enrolment in a higher education institution;
• English certificate (if needed);
• Letter of support from an academic.

This summer school is organised by the Faculty of Biology and Medicine of the University of Lausanne and Unisanté  in collaboration with the Inselspital Bern , the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) , the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) , the Institute of Health Equity  and the World Health Organization (WHO) 

I would recommend this course to health policy actors and health system researchers that seek to gain state-of-the-art knowledge and best practices in health equity. The course assembles some of the leading experts in various sub-disciplines of health equity together with participants from around the world. By using participatory and experiential learning approaches, the course encourages the sharing of experiences to enhance the facilitated sessions

-John Eliasu Mahama from Ghana, Health Advisor with Millennium Promise Alliance and PhD Student in Health Policy and Management at the University of Ghana. Participated in 2022

It was a phenomenal experience. Great facilitators, well-rounded speakers, and a diverse and multicultural participant class. Wonderful friends made, and I look forward to coming back for a HE-reunion sometime soon. Lausanne is a beautiful city but more importantly, the HE tag-team of UNIL's Patrick and Kevin was absolutely the best!!!! 

-Michael Akagbor Doctoral Candidate of Sociology Ghana. Participated in 2022

A platform for interdisciplinary networking, which will expand your horizons and comfort zone.

-Hugo Kirchner, South Africa. Participated in 2022

The summer school was great, provided me different topics to think about beyond the research. It was very useful to have discussions from the academic, political and social points of view. I enjoyed it a lot and I will use the new knowledge in my Ph.D. project.

-Ana Oña, from Ecuador. PhD student at University of Lucerne in collaboration with Swiss Paraplegic Research. Participated in 2021

The organizers of the summer school managed to bring together a unique combination of speakers, bridging policy makers, researchers and international organizations. I highly recommend it! 

-Anaïs Galli, PhD in Epidemiology, Switzerland. Participated in 2021.

I recommend this summer school to everyone interested in health equity topics. This experience strengthened my interest in public health and I'm sure it was a milestone in my career.

-Annett (Germany). Participated in 2021.