Academic research excursion project brings German students to Gillings School

March 18, 2015

Students in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, as well as students in the Health Economics and Management Program at the University of Bayreuth in Bayreuth, Germany, are studying to become experts of their respective health-care systems.

A transatlantic partnership known as the Academic Research Excursion encourages students from both universities to reach even further and learn about a health-care system other than their own. Upon witnessing the best practices of another country first-hand, students rethink the health-care structures they take for granted.

Gillings School Dean Barbara K. Rimer welcomed the exchange participants

Earlier this month, fifteen students from the University of Bayreuth came to Chapel Hill, N.C., for a series of site visits, presentations and discussions with health-care professionals. From March 2 to 5, they were based at UNC’s Gillings School. The following week, they traveled to Washington, D.C. in the company of several UNC students to continue their exploration of the United States health-care system.

Bruce Fried, PhD, associate professor of health policy and management at the Gillings School, has been instrumental in realizing this educational exchange. Fried is also the director of the UNC residential master’s program in health policy and management. He understands the insight that can be gained from exploring another country’s solutions to familiar problems.

“Americans, in particular, often can have narrow and uninformed views of other health-care systems,” Fried said. “Meeting with citizens and people working within another system can lead to greater understanding and an appreciation of the common challenges facing all systems.”

To further the goal of mutual understanding, the academic research excursion also brings two German students to UNC each year as visiting scholars. This part of the collaborative exchange, begun eleven years ago, has cemented the relationship between UNC and the University of Bayreuth.

While the U.S. and German health-care systems differ significantly, they struggle with similar challenges regarding how to organize care and shape the future of their field. The aim of the excursion project is to provide experiences that will inform students’ approach to health care for years to come, resulting in improved quality of life both in their home countries and abroad.

Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: David Pesci, director of communications, (919) 962-2600 or dpesci@unc.edu.