KIT welcomes its 63rd Master’s cohort to Amsterdam
KIT has welcomed its 63rd Master’s cohort to Amsterdam, bringing together 36 participants from 14 nationalities to begin a new chapter in their professional and academic journeys in public health.
The cohort includes 21 participants who will continue with the Master in Public Health and Health Equity until August 2027, alongside 15 participants following the Core Course in Public Health and Health Equity, which runs until December. Together, they form an international group of health professionals with diverse professional experiences, perspectives and ambitions.
While their backgrounds differ, the participants share a commitment to understanding and addressing complex challenges affecting health and health equity around the world. Over the coming months, they will explore how health systems can be strengthened, inequalities addressed and evidence and knowledge translated into effective action.
Preparing the next generation of public health leaders
Welcoming the new cohort, KIT CEO Michel Farkas highlighted the challenging environment in which the participants are beginning their studies.
“Public health, health research and sexual and reproductive health and rights are facing open resistance,” he said. “At the same time, we are seeing a shift away from international cooperation, as policies and political discourse turn inward.”
Against this backdrop, Farkas emphasised the importance of developing not only technical expertise but also the ability to think critically and view challenges through an equity lens.
“Our mission is more relevant than ever, and our primary contribution is helping to prepare the next generation of leaders in global and public health,” he said. “Technical expertise alone is insufficient. We place strong emphasis on critical thinking and on using an equity lens when looking at the world we live in.”
Participants are encouraged to question established practices and assumptions, including their own. This critical reflection is an important part of the KIT learning experience and connects with the organisation’s own history and its ongoing effort to examine its role in a changing world.
Learning across disciplines – and from each other
The international diversity of the cohort is central to the learning experience. Participants bring different professional backgrounds, experiences of health systems and perspectives on the challenges facing communities around the world.
During the opening ceremony, Yasmine El Addouli, Coordinator of KIT’s Education team, introduced participants to the wider work of the KIT Knowledge Unit, which brings together expertise across Health, Sustainable Economic Development and Gender.
“Improving health requires us to look beyond health alone,” El Addouli explained. “Themes such as nutrition, inclusivity, planetary health, financing and livelihoods cut across our different teams. And this interdisciplinarity is also something we try to bring into our education.”
Learning at KIT therefore goes beyond acquiring new knowledge. Participants arrive with substantial professional and personal experience of their own, which becomes an important part of the classroom environment.
“Our aim is not simply to give you more knowledge,” El Addouli told the new cohort. “You already bring a great deal of knowledge and experience with you when you arrive here.”
From individual patients to stronger health systems
The different paths that have brought participants to KIT reflect the breadth of public health itself.
One of the new Master’s students, Mahaveer Maheshwari from Karachi, Pakistan, is a medical doctor with experience in both clinical medicine and the pharmaceutical industry. He sees public health as an opportunity to build on his medical background while addressing health challenges at population level.
“As a doctor, I can help individual patients, but through public health I believe I can contribute to preventing diseases, improving healthcare systems, developing effective health policies and addressing health challenges at a bigger level – beyond borders,” Mahaveer says.
For Bintu Sia Gborie from Sierra Leone, the motivation comes from years of working directly to strengthen health systems and improve services for communities. After studying Public Health at Njala University, Bintu joined SEND Sierra Leone, where she progressed from field staff to Head of Health and WASH Programmes. She led a team of 11 and worked closely with the Ministry of Health, District Health Management Teams and the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation.
Those experiences have shown her that effective public health requires more than technical knowledge.
“It requires strong leadership, collaboration, negotiation, evidence-based decision-making and a good understanding of health systems,” Bintu says.
Through the Master in Public Health and Health Equity, she hopes to strengthen her leadership and professional skills, deepen her understanding of health system strengthening and develop new approaches to addressing public health challenges.
“I want to use what I learn to contribute more effectively and efficiently to stronger health systems and better health equity in Sierra Leone and beyond,” she says.
Together, their experiences illustrate the different perspectives that participants bring to the classroom – from clinical medicine and pharmaceutical research to health systems, WASH and community-level work.
From knowledge to action
The programmes combine academic knowledge with practical experience and interdisciplinary learning. Participants work with real-world public health challenges, considering their complexity and interdependence while developing analytical, research and professional skills relevant to public health practice, policy and research.
KIT’s wider expertise also allows participants to explore the social, economic and environmental contexts in which health challenges occur, including sustainable economic development, food and agribusiness, impact economics and gender.
Just as importantly, participants become part of an international professional community. They connect with fellow students, KIT staff, facilitators, alumni and professionals from around the world, creating relationships that can support collaboration long after their studies have ended.
“Much of the work we do in global health depends on collaboration, and we hope that the relationships you build here will continue long after your time at KIT,” El Addouli told the new cohort.
For more than six decades, KIT has brought together professionals from around the world to learn, exchange experiences and develop the knowledge and skills needed to improve health and health equity.
The 63rd cohort now begins that journey – bringing with them new ideas, experiences and ambitions for the future of public health.
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KIT Education Director Hermen Ormel
