Fellowship 2023

TGHI Fellowship

TGHI Fellowship is an immersive eight-week educational program (September - November) that brings together a cohort of passionate undergraduate students from all backgrounds. Our goal is to spark curiosity and cultivate interest in the exciting space of digital innovations in global health. We will offer unique opportunities for students to not only gain exposure to the fundamentals but also get hands-on technical skills, fostering an engaging learning experience in this intersection of global health and technology. Our Fellowship is structured into three comprehensive units: Infectious Diseases, Compassionate Health Tech Interventions, and AI in Global Health. Each unit presents case studies and interactive workshops that allow students to gain insights from global health organizations and professionals. As a culmination of their journey, students will create and showcase their own projects, translating their newly acquired knowledge and skills into action.

No background in global health, engineering, or computer science is required—we are looking for students with a passion to learn about this evolving field.

2023 Final Project Symposium

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Check out what our fellows did in Fall 2023!

Fellowship Schedule Fall 2023

  • Come meet other TGHI Fellowship participants while enjoying free food.

    When: September 24th, Ticknor Lounge
    Location: Ticknor Lounge

  • This week utilizes infectious diseases as a lens to discuss the biosocial approach to global health and introduces you to technologies used in managing infectious diseases.

    We will begin with a section on history and colonialism by looking at the case of AIDS in a village in Haiti. How does history – particularly histories of colonialism and structural injustice – affect global health outcomes? How does technology in particular further or counteract coloniality in health? The economics section of the unit will focus on three main ideas: modeling global health expenditures, describing the economic opportunities produced by emerging health technologies, and the state of economic inequality and its contribution to health inequality in a global context.

    When: Monday 7-8:30pm
    Where: Emerson 307

  • This week, we will look at how different technologies contribute to modeling the spread of infectious disease and the role that diagnostics technology plays in the identification and management of infectious diseases.

    Following this discussion, TGHI’s Co-Directors of Technology will lead a technical workshop on using Python data analysis to study the impact of increasing health expenditure in a particular country. We will replicate the data analysis method from a published article. For Fellows with limited programming knowledge, we will guide you through this process.

    When: Monday 7-8:30pm
    Where: Emerson 307

  • The following three weeks will discuss the importance of incorporating compassion and human-centered design in the development of technology-based health interventions. We will explore three case studies, with the first case study being smart elder care. As the global population ages, the need for effective elder care becomes more pressing. How can emerging technologies provide potential solutions to these challenges in different countries? How can we address the digital divide to produce more equitable and accessible digital health solutions?

    On Monday, October 9th, Professor Ning An will guide students through a virtual visit to a smart elder care facility in China.
    On Tuesday, October 10th, we will also have a guest presentation by the president-elect of the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, a Boston-based nonprofit that provides clinical and cost-effectiveness analyses of medical treatments, tests, and procedures.

    When: Monday and Tuesday 7-8:30pm
    Where: Emerson 307

  • This week’s case study focuses on a telehealth program at Health Tech Without Borders (HTWB), a global non-profit organization aiming to mitigate humanitarian healthcare crises by leveraging digital tools and technology to provide immediate access to health resources. They launched a Telehealth platform where clinical volunteers were trained to work with patients suffering from mental health issues—the platform was in partnership with the Ukraine Ministry of Health to address wartime psychological detriments. You will hear from the co-founder of HTWB during this session.

    Note: This session will be hosted on Tuesday, October 17th at 5pm at Harvard Hall 202. This is also open to students not part of the fellowship.

  • We will focus on a case study of refugee health, referencing Integrating Health Technologies in Health Services for Syrian Refugees in Lebanon: Qualitative Study (https://www.jmir.org/2020/7/e14283). There are 1 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon and millions of other refugees worldwide. Refugees often lack access to healthcare and are more vulnerable to illness. Will introducing eHealthcare for refugees improve their health outcome?

    At the end of this week, we will host a technical workshop that guides you through the process of redesigning a page on a health app, improving the experience of patients with limited or low digital literacy. You will learn the basics of Figma in this workshop.

  • This week, we will engage in a discussion about the ethical deployment of AI technologies in global health. Fellows will work together to create a short framework of ethical considerations.

  • Dr. Fawwaz Habbal will deliver a workshop on design thinking and problem-solving for students working on interdisciplinary projects. Dr. Habbal is a Senior Lecturer in Applied Physics at Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), formerly Executive Dean for Education and Research (2011-2021). Fellows will work on the design thinking aspect of their projects during this workshop.

  • Fellows will continue to work on their projects and participate in a tech workshop about machine learning.

  • TGHI fellowship students present their final projects to the greater Harvard community.

Fellowship FAQ

  • Weeks 0 to 4: ~1.5 hours a week of Fellowship meetings.

    Weeks 4 to 8: Participants will spend an additional 1 to 2 hours outside of Fellowship meetings to work on their projects.

  • To create an engaging experience, we aim to accept around 15 participants.

  • You will fill out a short application by September 17th @ 11:59 PM. We will notify you of the application status by September 22nd.

  • Dedicated, passionate individuals with an interest in learning.

  • Nope! We welcome students from all backgrounds. A demonstrated interest is all you need.

  • In some weeks, Co-Directors of Education will lead fellowship meetings. In other weeks, we will invite professors, executives of global health organizations, and healthcare professionals to lead case studies and speak at our fellowship meetings. Our Co-Directors of Technology will lead technical workshops.

  • Our Fellowship is the only educational student-run initiative for undergraduates to learn about the intersection of global health and technology. You will gain exposure to the fundamentals of global health technology and basic skills in Python and Figma, preparing you for our Spring case teams.

    You will also meet and have interactive discussions with professors, founders of global health organizations, and professionals from various fields, which is unique to our Fellowship.

    After you complete the Fellowship, you will be guaranteed a spot (leadership or associate roles) on our Spring case teams.