SSPH+ Lugano Summer School in Public Health Policy, Economics, and Management
The 34th edition of the SSPH+ Lugano Summer School in Public Health Policy, Economics, and Management will be held in Lugano, Switzerland, and online from August 18 to 23, 2025.
The SSPH+ Lugano Summer School in Public Health Policy, Economics, and Management places health, disease, and health systems thinking under one common framework of coherent concepts and practical implications. The education obtained and networks created serve as an opportunity to reduce and prevent the gap between public health theory and practice. Swiss Plexus builds capacity for global public health and contributes to the transformation of educational opportunity into a global common good.
The program matches health professionals, policy makers, students, and researchers from around the globe with high quality training offers provided by member institutions of the Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), the national coordinating body for promoting university education and research in public health sciences in Switzerland. By providing scholarships for short, skill and competency-based courses, Swiss Plexus supports the public health workforce to respond constructively to challenges of the public health sector. Swiss Plexus is run by SSPH+ and supported by a grant of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
What Lugano Summer School aims for
The Summer School focuses on Public Health Policy, Economics, and Management. The Programme aims to reduce the gap between public health theory and practice. The courses are intended for professionals and managers of health administrations, hospitals and other services and facilities within the health sector, policy-makers and students. Lugano Summer School offers an opportunity to meet new colleagues and peers, to exchange knowledge, build networks and share insights, all for the purpose of mutual learning for change.
Courses
- Strategic Project Management: This course introduces participants to the basic principles, methods, and tools for project management in a realistic context, allowing them to improve their ability to manage complex projects.
- Making sense of the evidence to inform programmes, policies, and practice: This course offers a thorough introduction to the methods and tools required to evaluate, synthesize, and apply evidence in public health practice and research.
- Foundations of Digital Health: Navigating the evolving landscape of digital solutions for health systems strengthening: This course will focus on developing a robust understanding of the implications, constraints, and opportunities in the application of digital health solutions in health systems.
- Strategic public health policy and planning: an introduction to systems thinking and modelling for evidence-based decision making: During this course, participants will learn how to model and analyze various alternative strategies using an interdisciplinary approach that brings together systems thinking, decision analysis (including economic evaluation) and complex public health challenges
- Designing Programmes and Interventions for Impact from the outset: This course aims to provide participants with knowledge, key principles, and seven central tenets of an impact evaluation framework that enables them to design programmes and interventions for impact from the outset.
- Digitally augmented Public Health: A practice-based approach: This course aims to foster clear thinking about the responsible and productive use of new technologies in Public Health and Epidemiology. Participants will learn tools to critically reflect on how technology can serve their goals.
- Nutrition for Public Health: From Research to Policy: This course introduces participants to diet-disease relationships, the quality of that evidence, and relevance across cultures and settings by offering an overview of contemporary issues in nutrition science, public health, and diet-related policy.
- Current Hot Topics in Noncommunicable diseases and health systems: This course presents current “Hot Topics” with regards to NCDs and health system responses. It provides an overview of the role of health systems and presents a variety of key issues facing health systems and the delivery of care for NCDs.
- Measuring health spending and results to improve health sector performance and meet strategic objectives and inform policy reforms: This course focuses on the challenges and opportunities of tracking expenditures and assessing efficiencies to meet strategic objectives and inform policy and health system reforms.
- Implementation science in healthcare: How to effectively translate evidence-based innovations into real-world settings: In this course, participants will gain the knowledge and competencies that enable them to effectively translate evidence-based innovations into their own settings.
- Bridging research, policy and practice to improve the health of migrants: This course provides participants with an understanding of migration drivers, contextual factors, normative and legal frameworks, as well as the primary hurdles migrants face in obtaining healthcare.
- Design Thinking: User-Centered Innovation for Public Health Professionals: During this course, participants will learn to empathize with target groups, prototype quickly, and generate creative ideas to transform the way they develop products, services, processes, and strategies.
- Social behavioral design for public health programs: This course will show how behavioral insights can be used to develop effective behavior change communications and other interventions including psychological inoculation against misinformation.
- Planetary Health Action: In this course, participants will learn how to visualize and integrate diverging concepts in the realms of planetary and one health in order to facilitate a collective understanding and articulate actionable interventions.
The Swiss Plexus Scholarship Programme
Prerequisites for the application
- Your work/research domain is relevant for the improvement of public health.
- You have a good English language level (written and oral).
- You are able to FULLY commit to the classes during the times and dates indicated in the course(s) description.
- You do not have other financial means to cover your registration fees.
- It is highly suggested that you have a laptop.
- (IF ONLINE) Your internet connection and IT equipment are sufficient to allow you to follow smoothly the online classes.
- (IF ON-SITE) You are able to travel to Switzerland (no visa-related restrictions) during the SSPH+ LSS week.
- Please note: due to the funder conditions, most of the scholarship are dedicated to applicants from Low and Middle Income Countries. This does not exclude persons from High Income Countries to apply, but their chances to receive a scholarship may be lower, unless new funds will be available.
Terms to apply
- You MUST read the course details (content, format, date) thoroughly before applying. You will not apply for an open scholarship but for a scholarship for specific course(s). Course descriptions are available on the SSPH+ LSS website.
- It is NOT possible to revise your application once it is submitted. The courses listed in the notification of acceptance are binding. In case the course is cancelled by the organizers, participants will be able to ask to withdraw their participation or choose a different course.
- You can apply only for ONE scholarship format. The formats are described below.
- To earn a certificate of completion and/or ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) credits, participants MUST attend at least 80% of the course, pass the final assessment, and attend the plenaries offered during the first day(s) of the selected course(s).
- Scholarship winners who do not show up to the selected courses, will not be able to win another scholarship in the next four years.
- The information you provide will be used for managing your application and potential participation in the summer school.
- (Only for ON-SITE) The expenses pre-financed by the participants will be reimbursed after the SSPH+ LSS week. No cash reimbursement will be possible, but only wire transfers. More information will be provided in case the scholarship is granted.
Scholarships Formats
Participants can apply to different types of scholarships, both on-site and online; each type is described below. As the number of on-site scholarships is limited, we HIGHLY encourage, in case you have the possibility to do so, to apply for a partial scholarship and co-fund your participation. Having the possibility to co-finance the expenses, for example if you or your organization can pay the travel and/or accommodation, it may increase the chances to come to Lugano. More information below. If you have a good internet connection and if it is challenging to travel to Lugano (e.g. visa restrictions), please consider applying for an online scholarship.
TYPES OF ON-SITE SCHOLARSHIPS
ON-SITE FULL SCHOLARSHIP to participate in Lugano, Switzerland, covers the following costs:
- Tuition costs for TWO courses in onsite or hybrid format. On-site participants can select two courses, one during the first half of the week (18-20 August) and one during the second (21-23 August). If you are willing to take just one course, please select the online scholarship.
- Plenaries attendance.
- Lunches at the University Canteen.
- Allowance for dinners (100 CHF total).
- Scheduled networking events (tentatively 2 events with apero/dinner and social activities).
- Expenses for accommodation. The SSPH+ LSS will organize and book the accommodation in one of the SSPH+ LSS selected hotels for a maximum of 7 nights and for the scholarship recipient only.
- Expenses for travel, health insurance, and visa. Scholarship recipients MUST self-organize and pre-finance the travel-related expenses, which will be reimbursed at the end of the SSPH+LSS up to a predefined amount. The SSPH+ LSS office will support this process with invitation letters, hotel confirmations, etc. IF the scholarship recipient cannot anticipate all these expenses, the SSPH+ LSS can support him/her ONLY with the flight booking. It is mandatory for scholarship recipients to anticipate the money for health insurance, visa fees, and trains from the airport to Lugano.
ON-SITE PARTIAL SCHOLARSHIP (TUITION + ACCOMMODATION) to participate in Lugano, Switzerland, covers the following costs:
- Tuition costs for TWO courses in onsite or hybrid format. On-site participants can select two courses, one during the first half of the week (18-20 August) and one during the second (21-23 August). If you are willing to take just one course, please select the online scholarship.
- Plenaries attendance.
- Lunches at the University Canteen.
- Allowance for dinners (100 CHF total).
- Scheduled networking events (tentatively 2 events with apero/dinner and social activities).
- Expenses for accommodation. The SSPH+ LSS will organize and book the accommodation in one of the SSPH+ LSS selected hotels for a maximum of 7 nights and for the scholarship recipient only.
- * While all travel-related costs – flights, trains, health insurance, visa, etc. – must be self-covered by the participant.
ON-SITE PARTIAL SCHOLARSHIP (TUITION + TRAVEL) to participate in Lugano, Switzerland, covers the following costs:
- Tuition costs for TWO courses in onsite or hybrid format. On-site participants can select two courses, one during the first half of the week (18-20 August) and one during the second (21-23 August). If you are willing to take just one course, please select the online scholarship.
- Plenaries attendance.
- Lunches at the University Canteen.
- Allowance for dinners (100 CHF total).
- Scheduled networking events (tentatively 2 events with apero/dinner and social activities).
- Expenses for travel, health insurance, and visa. Scholarship recipients MUST self-organize and pre-finance the travel-related expenses, which will be reimbursed at the end of the SSPH+LSS up to a predefined amount. The SSPH+ LSS office will support this process with invitation letters, etc. IF the scholarship recipient cannot anticipate all these expenses, the SSPH+ LSS can support him/her ONLY with the flight booking. It is mandatory for scholarship recipients to anticipate the money for health insurance, visa fees, and trains from the airport to Lugano.
- * While the accommodation costs must be self-covered by the participant. Please note that two hotels in Lugano offer special rates for LSS participants. More info in the website FAQ session – There are special prices for accommodation for paying participants.
ON-SITE PARTIAL SCHOLARSHIP (TUITION ONLY) to participate in Lugano, Switzerland, covers the following costs:
- Tuition costs for TWO courses in onsite or hybrid format. On-site participants can select two courses, one during the first half of the week (18-20 August) and one during the second (21-23 August). If you are willing to take just one course, please select the online scholarship.
- Plenaries attendance.
- Lunches at the University Canteen.
- Allowance for dinners (100 CHF total).
- Scheduled networking events (tentatively 2 events with apero/dinner and social activities).
- * While all travel-related costs – flights, trains, health insurance, visa, etc. – and accommodation costs must be self-covered by the participant.
- The LSS office can support with the documents needed for the visa application (e.g. invitation letter). Please note that two hotels in Lugano offer special rates for LSS participants. More info in the website FAQ session – There are special prices for accommodation for paying participants.
TYPES OF ONLINE SCHOLARSHIPS
1. ONLINE SCHOLARSHIP, to participate on zoom, covers the following costs:
- Tuition costs for ONE course in online or hybrid format. Online participants can select one course during the first half of the week (18-20 August) OR during the second half of the week (21-23 August).
- Plenaries attendance.
- Scheduled online networking events
2. HUB SCHOLARSHIP, to participate in a hub location* covers the following costs:
- Tuition costs for ONE course. Hub participants can select only one course between those pre-selected by the hub organizers.
- Plenaries attendance.
- Scheduled online networking events.
- Some hubs may provide additional services (e.g. lunches, coffee breaks, social events).
If you are a Nepalese public health professional, the Hub Scholarship is also available for the Kathmandu Hub.
* Hybrid hubs are LSS satellites where clusters of LSS participants physically gather to attend synchronous online classes of the SSPH+ LSS. Hubs provide the opportunity for face-to-face interaction within one location, both for additional discussions of course contents as well as for networking. They also ensure that participants have good technical equipment and stable network connectivity to enable remote and smooth participation in the pre-selected LSS courses. All hubs are co-created in cooperation with local partners acting as hosts. More info on the hub locations and courses below.
If you are interested in the hub participation, please see below the list of hubs available and the courses they are going to offer:
1. Hub in Prishtina, Kosovo. Will offer the following courses:
- Nutrition for Public Health: From Research to Policy (18-20 August 2025)
- Foundations of Digital Health: Navigating the evolving landscape of digital solutions for health systems strengthening (18-20 August 2025)
- Current Hot Topics in Noncommunicable diseases and health systems (21-23 August 2025)
- Design Thinking: User-Centered Innovation for Public Health Professionals (21-23 August 2025)
*The Hub will also offer simultaneous translation and lunches and coffee breaks.
2. HUB in Mogadishu, Somalia. Will offer the following course:
- Nutrition for Public Health: From Research to Policy (18-20 August 2025)
*The Hub will also offer lunches and coffee breaks.
3. HUB in Chisinau, Moldova. Will offer the following course:
- Nutrition for Public Health: From Research to Policy
*The Hub will also offer lunches and coffee breaks.
4. HUB in Lahore, Pakistan. Will offer the following course:
- Foundations of Digital Health: Navigating the evolving landscape of digital solutions for health systems strengthening (18-20 August 2025)
5. HUB in Kathmandu, Nepal. Will offer the following course:
- Current Hot Topics in Noncommunicable diseases and health systems (21-23 August 2025)
*The Hub will also offer lunches and coffee breaks.
6. HUB in Kafue/Kabwe, Zambia. Will offer the following courses:
- Foundations of Digital Health: Navigating the evolving landscape of digital solutions for health systems strengthening (18-20 August 2025)
- Making sense of the evidence to inform programmes, policies, and practice (18-20 August 2025)
*The Hub will also offer lunches and coffee breaks.
7. HUB in Hanoi, Vietnam. Will offer the following courses:
- Current Hot Topics in Noncommunicable diseases and health systems (21-23 August 2025)
- Measuring health spending and results to improve health sector performance and meet strategic objectives and inform policy reforms (21-23 August 2025)
- Bridging research, policy and practice to improve the health of migrants (21-23 August 2025)
Application Guidelines
Once you choose the course(s) you want to follow, based on the scholarship format for which you will apply, you can start your application. Before opening the application link (https://usi.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_e9ijlmdPgvOP94O) we highly recommend that you prepare the following information. In fact, once the application is started you cannot exit, save it, etc.
1. BIO SKETCH – A short description of your work, academic background, expertise, and any other qualification/skill relevant for your application (Maximum 1500 character – ~ 250 words).
2. MOTIVATION – Please tell us why you want to attend the LSS, and more specifically the selected courses, and why you need a scholarship to do so (Maximum 1500 character – ~ 250 words).
3. IMPACT – Please tell us what you hope to gain out of attending the LSS this year and what is the expected impact of the LSS on your work/studies (maximum 1000 character ~ 160 words).
4. PAST LSS PARTICIPATION – If you have attended the LSS in the past, please specify when, which courses you took and how the knowledge and networks provided during the LSS impacted your work (maximum 800 character ~ 120 words).
*Be sure to include all information requested in each point!! Thanks for submitting your application before March 5, 2025, at 23:30 CET.
