EUPHAnxt Fellowship Programme

What is the EUPHAnxt Fellowship?

The fellowship is a programme within the annual conference of the European Public Health Association started in 2018. The number of fellows grew constantly – it started with four fellows during the first edition, continued with six in 2019 and culminated with twelve in 2020.  

As a fellow, the selected participants will:

• have the opportunity to work alongside the EUPHAnxt team, the EUPHA office and the European Public Health Conference planners to disseminate information about the conference through various communication platforms;
• receive mentoring session with prestigious public health specialists;
• receive a waiver of the conference fee;
• have the opportunity to network during the conference;
• have the opportunity to co-author an EUPHA report;
• receive a signed certificate of appreciation from EUPHA.

Fellows’ blogs 2022

• Interview with Natasha Azzopardi-Muscat under the EUPHAnxt fellowship programme
  by Ana Margarida Alho
• Getting started with Podcasts: in class with Stefan Buttigieg
  by Angela Ancona
• Navigational health literacy. Perspectives from Austria, Germany and Switzerland
  by Diana Nemes
• Digitally literate health workforce for a resilient future
  by Diana Nemes
• Interview with Mariana Peyroteo Dos Santos “Foresight studies are in the end to make people think about the future”
  by Nora Lorenzo
• Interview with Prof. Aileen Clarke “It’s basic public health, because it’s about infectious diseases, communicable diseases,pandemics, they don’t respect borders”
  by Nora Lorenzo
• Infodemics, research quality, open science and secondary sources of research
  by Edoardo Corsi Decenti
• What happens when health professionals struggle with mental health
  by Leonie Mac Fehr
• Migration is a social justice issue and so is climate change!
  by Leonie Mac Fehr
  

Fellowship testimonials 2020

Harsha Somaroo

It was exciting to attend my first WCPH, and it was an absolute privilege to do this as a EUPHAnxt Fellow. From the Congress proceedings, I most enjoyed the profound plenary discussions and the many reflections, from around the world, surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The similar incidents and challenges from many, and often diverse, contexts, reinforced themes that pervaded the week i.e. the interconnectedness of us all in the global society that we live in and the value of learning from each other and collaborating.

The opportunity to be a Congress fellow was most memorable, with the fortune to work with inspiring public health proponents from other countries and to engage with phenomenal mentors. The excellent scientific content, valuable networking, and enjoyable fellowship experience, were humbly appreciated and have motivated me to incorporate similar approaches within my local public health organisation’s future conferences.

The WCPH 2020 also empowered me to continue to analyse, advocate, and act for improved public health, in the interests of the future of humanity.

Tanvir Islam

As a young researcher from a 3rd world country, I was always very much enthusiastic to learn about how research turns into policy to benefit the mass population. From that perspective, I have registered myself to the 16th World congress on public health, 2020.

But I consider myself so lucky that this year I got selected as a fellow by EUPHA too. Without this opportunity, this congress would be the same as few other conferences. As a non-European, I came to know the frequency and pathways to diminish the huge diversity, politics, tension and knowledge gaps between people, researchers and policymakers with so many countries altogether. Part of the fellowship was mentorship from such public health leaders who I could only dream of.

I am proud of my other such diversified fellow colleagues from all over the world, met virtually and showed the best teamwork possible. Truly this fellowship gave me such drive to take the high road and calibrate my liability to my country. I wish good luck to EUPHA and EUPHAnxt to its prosperity and hope they continue this program in future.

Fellowship testimonials 2018

Josefine Björkqvist

The European Public Health Conference grows more insightful and more vibrant each year. With 1,675 people from 72 countries taking part in the 2018 Conference in Ljubljana the networking opportunities were endless and with seven plenary sessions, 14 pre-conferences, 160 workshops, oral and pitch sessions and 20 E-poster walks the choice of which sessions to participate in was near impossible. The EUPHAnxt Fellowship programme provided a unique opportunity to get involved behind the scenes of the conference and to get to know key leaders in European public health through mentorship opportunities, interviews and meeting members of the EUPHA Executive Council and EUPHA Section Council. As a young public health professional the European Public Health Conference can seem overwhelming at times and there is often a strong urge to take the safe option of staying close to your immediate reach team, section or national organisation. However, this goes against the drive towards collaboration across sectors and across borders to improve health for all in Europe. The EUPHAnxt Fellowship programme allowed us to better highlight interesting sessions and research findings to conference delegates via the conference app but also to take the debate beyond the conference hall by enhancing communication via social media, where the "#eph2018" hashtag on Twitter alone had a reach of up to 1,171,683 Twitter users across the world. The EUPHAnxt Fellowship programme is opening doors for the next generation of public health professionals and if you are considering attending the 12th European Public Health Conference: Building bridges for solidarity and public health in Marseille 2019 I would highly recommend applying for the EUPHAnxt Fellowship programme.

Melissa Sharp

Alfred Tennyson once said, “I am in part all that I have met,” it is these words that spring to mind when I think of the incredible experience I had as a 2018 EUPHA Fellow. The programme was an interesting, engaging, and rewarding opportunity that allowed for ample personal and professional growth. As an early career researcher, having such meaningful mentorship opportunities with eminent researchers was extremely helpful, as was the chance to network with like-minded passionate individuals in the field. We engaged in discussions on the intersections of politics and health, and how to improve the culture of research. Furthermore, invaluable career guidance was imparted upon us, which will help us navigate this ever-evolving interdisciplinary global world. Meeting such fascinating passionate, diverse, intelligent group of Fellows who were all doing their part in the field of public health was a particular standout moment. As a foreign researcher who is currently more engaged in meta-epidemiological work rather than hands-on public health efforts, the conference was a bit daunting at first. However, any worries quickly dissipated in the company of amazing peer facilitators who seemingly effortlessly navigated the complex interests of the Fellows and engaged us in rewarding, motivating and inspiring sessions. Being a EUPHA Fellow was a highlight of my academic career for which I am very grateful and proud. It is an opportunity I would recommend it to any early career researcher or public health professional.

Duarte Brito

This was my first time at European Public Health Conference and the Fellowship Programme was the best way to enter "EUPHA's World". It was a great experience to cover a scientific conference from a kind of journalistic perspective, but I would be lying if I didn't say it was tough. From covering plenaries for the official social media platforms, to producing written highlights from specific sessions or interviewing relevant speakers, this was a great way to put into practice my communication skills while being part of an amazing team. But "gain worth the pain", since as a Fellow I had the chance to meet amazing young researchers, including a very dynamic team from EUPHAnxt. I would also highlight the opportunity to have a short talk with Dr. Iveta Nagyova as well with Dr. Peter Allebeck. And I also had the chance to meet other Fellows (we were six) and exchange interesting ideas about Public Health and many other topics both at “work” and “after-hours”. I think this was a great initiative from EUPHA and EUPHAnxtand I want to thank Sara McQuinn, Pasquale Cacciatore and Keitly Mensah for all the support! If you want to attend this Public Health reference conference, enjoy meeting people from around the world and enlarge your network, I would strongly suggest you to send your application and experience it even more intensely as a EUPHA Fellow. I keep my EUPHA's pin and I will wear it proudly in the next EPH Conference.

Elodie Besnier

The 2018 European public health conference in Ljubljana was the opportunity to take part in the first EUPHAnxt fellowship program. Throughout the week, the six of us worked closely with the EUPHAnxt team to cover and report on the conference. As I wasn’t assigned to a specific track, I was able to attend sessions on a great variety of topics: from preventing NCDs to EU funding programs, from political landscapes in public health to training in global health. Aside from the conference itself, the fellowship program included mentoring sessions with two leading figures of European public health: Peter Allebeck, editor-in-chief of European Journal of Public Health, and Iveta Rajnicova-Nagyova, President of EUPHA section on Chronic Disease and upcoming President of EUPHA. Finally, each day would end with a short fellows meeting to prepare newsletter articles and highlights to be published the following day. With each of us attending different sessions plus the plenaries, the fellowship program allowed me to get notes and information on a lot more sessions that I would have been able to cover. Thanks to the experience of other fellows with various social media platform and the sound advice of the EUPHAnxt team, the program was also an opportunity to improve my communication and social media skills. Last but not least, thanks to this program, I was not only able to attend a very informative conference but also meet a group of inspiring young professionals from across Europe, learning from their experience and their research.

Our Fellows in:

2022

• Ana Margarida Alho
• Angela Ancona
• Edoardo Corsi Decenti
• Diana Nemeș
• Leonie Mac Fehr
• Nora Lorenzo i Sunyer

2020

• Maria Bakola
• Annika Kreitlow
• Chiara Rinaldi
• Denis Satoshi Komoda
• Harsha Somaroo
• Katharina Tabea Jungo
• Lauren Tonti
• Manuel Alexander Reynaga Herbert
• Rana Orhan
• Md Tanvir Islam
• Tara Tai-Wen Chen
• Wilfredo Abarcar

2019

• Friederike Schwarzkopf
• Juan Rachadell
• Monica-Georgiana Brînzac
• Kalila Jaeger
• Madison Moi Yamazaki
• Lorenzo de Min

2018

• Elodie Besnier
• Duarte Brito
• Melissa Sharp
• Josefine Björkqvist