What does this fellowship entail?
– The Sight Fellowship Programme aims to empower researchers with diverse scientific backgrounds and experience of interdisciplinary collaborations with a focus on selected themes in global health, such as maternal, child and adolescent health, peace and conflict research, and the climate and environment. The complex nature of the problems facing human and planetary health today requires a radical change in approach. Sight is uniquely placed to foster this kind of environment through its networks and activities. As a Sight fellow, the benefits as I see are two-fold: one is the personal growth and career development from an individual perspective; and the other is the institutional perspective through reciprocal contributions to each of the fellow’s research groups, departments and universities.
Global health and climate change, which affect both people and our planet, call for new ways of thinking and behaving. Research and experiences gained from a variety of disciplines need to be brought together. The idea behind Sight is thus to strengthen interdisciplinary research and develop collaborations between different universities, thereby contributing to the achievement of the UN’s global goals under Agenda 2030.
What will you be doing in the programme?
– The programme includes a structured plan that is common to all fellows, where we will meet around three times per semester and this will start with a two-day session in September 2021. In addition, there is a more flexible and tailored individual plan that takes into account each fellow’s specific situation, their research, where they want to go and what they want to achieve. It’s too early to describe my individual tailored plan but I can confidently say that the Sight fellowship will enable me to actively liaise with and learn from global leaders and actors; and thereby strengthen my research and the research environment for all collaborators I engage with.
What does this mean in more concrete terms for you personally, and for your research in particular?
– Firstly, Uppsala University and Karolinska Institutet have jointly initiated a collaboration platform called GlobeLife and I am the representative for the MedFarm disciplinary domain on the GlobeLife steering committee. Moreover, through the two universities GlobeLife will host the recently announced DevRes 2022, a development research conference, in August 2022. I am the project leader for DevRes 2022 and see this as an area that can provide mutual support and promote growth through Sight’s own networks as well the networks of the other Sight fellows.
– Secondly, within the International Child Health and Nutrition research group, I lead one of the research sub-groups focusing on the intersectorality of NCD prevention, which includes work on food environment transformations. Disease prevention in general and through food environment transformations in particular requires the active cooperation and collaboration of multiple sectors and actors who may not traditionally work together. The Sight fellowship will actively equip me to think and work across sectors and disciplines within my own research and collaborations. I also see this as a unique opportunity to take on a leadership role in global health in the coming years; and contribute to further improving Sweden’s role in global health.