News Article
April 8, 2009
DGHI Announces Global Health Diploma between Duke and Peking University
Beginning in July 2009, DGHI and Peking University (PKU) will offer a two-week Duke-PKU Global Health Diploma program. The program will take place on PKU’s campus in Beijing, China and will be co-taught by faculty from Duke and PKU. The program is supported by the Ministry of Education of China.
“This global health training program builds of our longtime partnership with Duke University,” said Yan Guo, vice president of PKU Health Science Center and vice director of the Institute for Global Health at PKU. “In the age of globalization, health determinants and challenges do not have borders. Our response to our shared health challenges must involve global cooperation.”
Thirty students will participate in the first class of the program, which is the first of its kind to focus on global health in China. Four Duke faculty, Kathryn Whetten, Don Taylor, Sumi Ariely, and Gary Bennett, will travel to Beijing to co-teach the 80-hour curriculum. Topics covered in the curriculum are: Introduction to Global Health Issues; Comparative Structure and Finance in Health Systems; Health Promotion; and Global Health Ethics. Upon completion of the course and submission of a final research paper, students will receive a diploma signed by administrators from each university.
Mike Merson, director of the Duke Global Health Institute, said, “China has a transitioning economy and is facing a growing burden of chronic diseases, such as cerebro- and cardiovascular diseases. This partnership will allow us to expand Duke’s long-standing relationship with PKU to include the training of the country’s current and future global health leaders.”
Guo visited Duke’s campus earlier this week with her colleague Zhe Dong, director and professor in the Department of International Cooperation at PKU. Both visitors met with various Duke faculty and administrators to plan the diploma program and learn about Duke’s global health education and research endeavors.