From mentoring to internship: my EUPHAnxt journey

I first applied to the EUPHAnxt mentoring programme in late 2023. There wasn’t a suitable mentor available at the time, so I had to wait a full year for the next round. It was worth the wait. In November 2024 I was matched with Miriam Saso, Health Policy Advisor and Researcher at Sciensano (Brussels, Belgium), and that’s where my adventure really started.

From the very first meeting the collaboration felt easy. Miriam was helpful, knowledgeable, full of ideas, and genuinely kind. We met every month and kept in touch between sessions by email, sharing events, webinars, papers, and anything else that seemed useful. Having someone in my corner who knew the field inside out, and who was generous with her time, made a real difference to how I saw my own path in public health.

In July 2025, several months into the mentorship, I was accepted into the third year of the public health course at South East Technological University (Ireland). Year three includes an internship as part of the curriculum, and this is where the mentorship turned into something even bigger. By then Miriam already knew my background and interests well, and she offered me the chance to join Sciensano as an intern, working alongside a team I would never have had access to on my own. What started as a monthly conversation with a mentor grew into a real placement with one of the strongest public health institutions in the EU.

That’s the part of the programme I think is easy to underestimate when you apply. A good mentor doesn’t just share advice. They open doors. My background is in infodemic management, and through this mentorship I’ve been able to step into a setting where I can see how public health information actually moves, from the people who shape it to the politicians, communities, and organisations who receive it. That kind of perspective is hard to get from the outside.

If you’re thinking about applying to EUPHAnxt Mentoring Programme, my advice is simple. Apply. And if the timing doesn’t work out the first time, apply again. The right match at the right moment can change the direction of your career in ways you don’t expect.