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Rafi Chaudhury credits the interconnectedness between disciplines in the MSc Global Health program for preparing him for a successful career that bridges health and technology.

 

“I would not be where I am had it not been for the flexibility of the program and the support of my thesis advisor, Dr. Norman Archer,” says Chaudhury. Dr. Archer arranged for him to take a course in the MBA curriculum on data mining and business intelligence to enrich Chaudhury’s thesis research on e-health systems in Canadian family practice.

 

After graduation in 2012, Chaudhury landed a job at FeelingBetterNow, a Toronto-based company that provides mental health management software to thousands of Canadians. He became Product Manager two years later and collaborated with clinicians, patients and software developers to launch an improved version of the software that links at-risk individuals to care providers in their community.

 

“The connection between McMaster and my role at FeelingBetterNow is very direct,” he says. “A McMaster professor came across my e-health research online and contacted me to discuss my findings. She ended up introducing me to the CEO of the company now I work for.”

 

Chaudhury also points to the major public health project during his MSc Global Health studies for arming him with practical know-how. “It gave me the opportunity to plan, budget and execute a project while facing logistical issues and personnel conflicts. During this time, I learned a lot simply from having well-laid plans break down,” he says. “This is invaluable experience to have prior to working on real-life projects where the same problems occur, but the stakes are much higher.” 

 

These days, Chaudhury generously shares his own real-life insight with MSc Global Health students. He provides mentoring and career development assistance through events such as the Global Health Professional Development Series.

 

And Chaudhury has not left his student days behind. He continues to expand his knowledge beyond the global health discipline, most recently by enrolling in JavaScript programming classes at a coding boot camp. As for the future, he says he’s found his interdisciplinary niche. “I’m interested in working further at the intersection of people and technology.”