By Samuel Akyirem, MRes, RN, PhD candidate
The BRIDGE network (Building Research & Innovation and Developing Global Engagement) administered by YSN’s Office of Planetary Health and Global Engagement held one of its first virtual conferences to discuss the challenges and opportunities in higher education and global collaborations. During the 3-hour event, speakers from the People's Republic of China, Spain, United States, and Canada shared specific examples of how their respective institutions have fostered collaborations with national, regional, and global partners.
Dr. Xianhong Li, for instance, shared the over 100 years of long-standing collaborations between Yale University, Yale-China Association, and Central South University in China which have led to the securing of grants for faculty and postdoctoral training, ground-breaking research in China and creation of programs in bioethics, nursing ethics, and nursing leadership among others. During the presentation, some challenges that were highlighted between China-US collaborations included the evolving geopolitical landscape and international research.
Another successful and inspirational example of a regional collaboration was shared by Professor Pablo Vidal of Catholic University of Valencia about a Europe-wide consortium of over 70 Universities (EU-CONNEXUS). The program is funded by the European Commission and its Erasmus+ program. This consortium has allowed for the creation of trans-national masters-level programs, enhancing students’ mobility and allowing them to complete their educational programs across at least two out of nine different European countries. The main challenge in creating the EU-CONNEXUS was navigating the multiple accreditation regulations, different country-level academic calendars, and different national bank holidays. Dr. Vidal emphasized that the key to addressing this complex regulatory landscape is to secure governmental support and be prepared to compromise.
In Canada, Dr. Leroy Lowe of The Halifax Institute of Global Interdisciplinary Collaboration, highlighted the network of interdisciplinary neuroscientists he created that allowed them to tackle large-scale research problems in the field of neuroscience – problems that are challenging for individual groups to address. The consortium has led to the publication of at least three peer-reviewed articles in high-impact journals and has helped advanced career prospects for many students and postdocs.
Despite these success stories, many questions remain for the future, such as how to develop meaningful metrics for successful collaboration, how to ensure the financial and political sustainability of these partnerships, and how to more fully include researchers from low- and middle-income countries. With the driving theme around planetary health, the BRIDGE consortium aims to be a part of the solution for these challenges.
The virtual conference brought attendees from BRIDGE partners and others from Kenya, Spain, People's Republic of China, Australia, Canada and throughout the United States, including those from institutions in New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Maryland, California, Alabama, Florida, and Texas. BRIDGE is a global network of partners committed to advancing nursing, health, and planetary health. The consortium brings together institutions that share a passion for global engagement and innovations in planetary health to collaborate on expertise, resources, and experiences to strengthen its collective impact.