2010 Theme: Global Health in Bio-Medical, Social and Cultural Perspectives

The third edition of the Bergen Summer Research School is dedicated to the theme of Global Health and will be held 21 June – 2 July 2010. The 2010 theme will intersect with the other key topics of the Bergen Summer Research School (poverty, climate, environment, energy, norms, values, language and culture) and aims to promote collaboration, interaction and joint learning across disciplines on research topics and challenges related to global health and development. These challenges affect all countries in all income categories.

The concept of Global Health is defined as “an area for study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide. Global health emphasises 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” (Lancet, May 2009).

The main basis for BSRS is a series of parallel high quality doctoral courses targeted exclusively for doctoral candidates and junior researchers. The 2010 edition of the Research School plans to offer 8 parallel courses which cover a range of thematic, theoretical and methodological topics important for research on major global health challenges. Each course is based in its own disciplinary framework(s), whether it be in medicine, the humanities, natural or social sciences, but also developed to form a basis for interdisciplinary communication and methodological development in a cross-cultural and multidisciplinary research context.

The local course leaders are well established researchers in their own fields and have broad experience with international research collaboration. In addition to the researchers affiliated with the collaborating institutions, the BSRS has also invited a number of distinguished researchers from other countries who will participate throughout the Research School as teachers, key speakers or discussants in plenary sessions.

A set of plenary sessions and public meetings will reach out to the wider community in the overall perspectives of Global Health. This will include a particular attention to the role of innovation and challenges of the health systems as well as the role of social and political institutions in achieving equity and social justice for all.

Bergen Summer Research School 2010 thus aims to promote dialogue across academic disciplines, the private sector, government and civil society organisations and to raise awareness and incentives for all those sectors. We aim to offer truly interdisciplinary approaches and to develop tools to overcome methodological and epistemological challenges. Last, the north-south dimension will always be kept as a fundamental issue.

• BSRS 2010 will accept a maximum of 140 candidates
• Deadline for applications is 1 March 2010