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The Global Health Office’s first online networking event for alumni and students took place October 19, 2016. The first in a professional development series, the event provided an opportunity for Global Health students and grads to chat online, connecting colleagues from as far as Senegal.

 

With 33 participants, the online text-based platform facilitated over 175 chats during the hour-long event, and the majority of participants indicated they would like to participate in similar events in the future. 

 

Jaymie Walker, an MSc Global Health program graduate who is now pursuing medicine, said, “It was exciting to connect with the current students and share my experiences in the program, and how it has shaped my medical education.”

 

For current students, the event offered the chance to learn from alumni about various career trajectories upon completing the program. Students asked for tips on securing a practicum placement, and advice on transitioning into the workforce upon graduation, while alumni shared their experiences in the program and reconnected with former colleagues. 

 

Earlier this fall, the Global Health Office conducted a survey of graduates from the MSc Global Health program and the most common request from alumni was increased opportunities for networking. 

 

“These kinds of events are important in order to demonstrate a continued commitment to alumni, to allow students to meet program graduates, and to highlight the variety of opportunities available upon completing the MSc Global Health,” says Andrea Baumann, director of the MSc Global Health program.