The Universitas 21 Health Sciences Group (HSG) is a unique global university network of Health Sciences staff and students that includes members from 20 universities from within the overall U21 network.

HSG’s governing board is chaired by Professor Yvo Roos from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Amsterdam. The Secretariat is based within the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine at The University of Hong Kong.

Our group includes the discipline areas of:

• Dentistry
• Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
• Medicine
• Nursing and Midwifery
• Pharmacy
• Public Health
• Biomedical Sciences

U21 HSG provides collaborative opportunities and programmes across health sciences, for Deans of Medical Schools and International Managers through to doctoral and undergraduate students. There are also programmes to support student mobility and education as well as academic and clinical research, all underpinned by commitments to sustainability and equity, diversity and inclusion.

Flagship events include the Annual Meeting and the Summer School. Funding opportunities are available to support students and researchers in international projects and researcher-led collaborations. Other key activities for faculty and students include the Teaching Excellence Award, Student speaker Funding, Interprofessional Education Student Challenges, Global Learning Partnerships and SDG Student Workshops.

U21 Mental Health Declaration

In April 2024, the U21 Mental Health Group launched its first hybrid Symposium at The University of Hong Kong, focused on the implementation of the principles within the U21 University Mental Health declaration.

These principles include: providing…

• a people-first approach
• prompt response to prejudice related to mental ill-health
• signposting to appropriate services both on and off campus and
• appropriate evidence-based monitoring and evaluation of programmes delivered by the institutions

It has never been more important to ensure that we support the mental health of staff and students and provide robust programmes to do this. It is through collaboration and sharing of best practice that we can achieve this more quickly and more effectively.” Professor Barbara Dooley, University College Dublin

Annual Meeting at the University of Amsterdam

In August 2024, over 140 individuals took part in the 2024 Annual Meeting, hosted by the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Amsterdam, with its theme of Data Driven Healthcare and Teaching.

Through a mix of plenaries, panel sessions, workshops and informal networking, leading academics and clinicians from across the network were able to share learnings and collaborate.

Running alongside the Annual Meeting, the 2024 Doctoral Student Forum also provided learning and collaboration opportunities for doctoral researchers from eight U21 HSG universities.

The U21 Health Sciences Group network is a welcoming platform for sharing information and exchanging ideas.

The power of having like-minded individuals from different health science institutions across the world, who come together with a strong desire to collaborate and create opportunities to advance teaching and learning outcomes for staff and students, is not to be missed. The strength of the connections formed from being part of a network that fosters comradery and relationships enables our colleagues and students to easily come together and work collaboratively, whether it is within our own disciplines or across disciplines.”

Professor Yvo Roos, Faculty of Medicine at the University of Amsterdam.

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