LEARN Lao PDR - Master of Public Health: a joint program, ‘A new generation of post-graduate students in Laos’

The MCNV-LEARN program in partnership with the University of Health Sciences (UHS) in Lao PDR and Hanoi University of Public Health (HUPH) in Vietnam, is supporting 20 students to complete their MPH in the EU funded  Master of Public Health Joint Program before the end of the project in April 2020. With the objective of building capacity of students to generate evidence, especially for nutrition and reproductive health and disseminate evidence supporting the Lao National Health Research Agenda, the University of Health Sciences and Hanoi University of Public Health started a collaboration to award dual MPH-degrees to the students when completing their study. Once the students have met the requirements of the educational program defined by both universities, each will be awarded two MPH degrees.

There are a total of 20 students divided over two cohorts, participating in this joint program. The first cohort commenced their studies in August 2017 and the second cohort enrolled in March 2018. Both cohorts start their course in Vientiane for one semester and continue their coursework in Hanoi. Following the proposal defense in Hanoi, the students return to Laos to conduct their research and thesis writing, mostly in the areas of sexual reproductive health and nutrition.

The first cohort returned to Laos in October 2018 and completed their research earlier this year. Their thesis defends took place on 17 – 19 June, 2019, where the quality of their work was assessed by the academic committees from UHS and HUPH. The students passed, some of them with a few conditions to be completed before the final pass. The final thesis submission will be in the coming months.

In June 2019, the second cohort completed the research proposal defense in Hanoi and returned Laos, having the chance to observe the first cohort’s thesis defense, in order to learn and prepare themselves for their upcoming thesis defense. Currently this second cohort is working on the revision and pretesting of their research proposal. They will start their research soon after receiving an approval from the ethics review committee, expecting them to defend their thesis by December this year.