110 undergraduate students from the US and Iraqi Universities were selected to collaborate in teams of 12 with 8-10 participants each. The goal was to address the challenges of health care inequity in the era of COVID-19. Students worked virtually across cultures with healthcare-related, non-profits located either in the US and Iraq–to address challenges faced by those organizations.
The 7-week program included both synchronous and asynchronous activities including weekly conferences via Zoom and project-based learning activities via Moodle. Teams were led by Masters and PhDs in the field of Public Health from both the US and Iraq. This program was fully funded by the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
The 12 teams worked on a consultancy project and presented solutions to the United Iraqi Medical Society (UIMS), Mattapan Food & Fitness Coalition (MFFC), and Roca Boston at the end of the program.
If you would like to find out more about how your students can get involved, you can email us at chapters@unitedplanet.org or fill out the Contact Form by clicking on the Contact Us button right below.
This experience at United Planet has been valuable to me because it gave me a sense of what cultural competence means in practice: this requires being able to understand the vast experiences of those in other countries. I learned a lot of things from working with my Iraqi colleagues, where I got a better understanding of how there are a variety of experiences in a country like Iraq, especially in regards to education, language, etc.Aneesa Wermers, Team Captain Group 11Boston College
As someone who wants to work in the public health field, especially globally, I learned a whole lot about program planning and health promotion and the important things to keep in mind when trying to reach different populations.Abeeda Kasim, Team Captain Group 10Temple University
I had so much fun working with each and every person during this journey. I learned about how people from different cultures view a certain situation from a different angle and would make an effort to always understand the situation. The biggest takeaway for me is that most students are willing to help one another and work as a team regardless of language performance, distances and time differenceFadi Noel, Team Captain Group 6The Catholic University in Erbil
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