The Faculty is regularly presented with opportunities to expand its internationalization efforts, and the IGHO’s mandate is to ensure that decisions to formalize partnerships and agreements are first evaluated against a set of requirements and prioritize accordingly thereby creating a proactive strategy rather than being spontaneous and reactive. The goal is to ensure that international activities are in line with the varied educational and research priorities of the Faculty, as well as the overall internationalization efforts of the University.

Welcome to the International and Global Health Office

Internationalization and Global Health has emerged as a strategic direction of the Faculty through the creation of an environment that promotes international and global health collaborations and supports initiatives that are aligned with the Faculty’s priorities in education and research. 

The IGHO will have a strong governance model that is aligned with the University’s international strategy as well as clear goals and metrics toward partnership development and a strong communications plan to engage all stakeholders.

The IGHO promotes internationalization at the Faculty of Medicine (FoM) and ensures the sustainability of international partnerships and the Global Health Program through four key areas:

Definitions

Internationalization

Comprehensive internationalization is a commitment, confirmed through action, to infuse an international, intercultural, or global dimension into the purpose, functions or delivery of higher education.

Internationalization shapes institutional ethos and values and touches the entire higher education enterprise. It not only affects all of campus life but also the institution’s external frames of reference, partnerships, and relations.

John K. Hudzik, 2011 - Comprehensive Internationalization: From Concept to Action (pdf, 192.49 KB)

Global health

Global health is “an area of study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide. Global Health emphasizes transnational health issues determinants, and solutions; involves many disciplines within and beyond the health sciences and promotes interdisciplinary collaboration; and is a synthesis of population-based prevention with individual-level clinical care."

Jeffrey P Koplan, et. al. 2009 - Towards a common definition of global health (The Lancet article).