Learning quick lessons from the devastating Covid-19 pandemic, Gujarat's only research-based Ahmedabad University promoted by the city's prestigious Lalbhai Group on Monday evening launched a dedicated School of Health with a Harvard faculty as its dean.
Kaumudi Joshipura, Doctor of Science in Epidemiology from Harvard University, takes over as the Dean of School of Public Health.
Aim: To improve health and environment
Speaking at the launch of the new institution, Ahmedabad University Vice-Chancellor Pankaj Chandra stated that the aim of the school is to improve health and the environment locally, nationally, and globally.
“The goals are to train leaders who can develop holistic solutions to interdisciplinary problems pertinent to the 21st century, and to educate and inspire individuals, communities, and organisations,” he added.
The university aims in the long-term to develop a “comprehensive globally impactful School of Public Health.” The initial education focus is planned in Environmental Health and Analytical Sciences including Data Science, Biostatistics and Epidemiology, and executive education.
The School’s Dean also holds Susmita and Subroto Bagchi Professorship in Public Health endowed by Susmita Bagchi, Odia writer and Chairperson, MoSchool, and Subroto Bagchi, Co-Founder of Mindtree, and Chairman, Odisha Skill Development Authority.
The University Vice-Chancellor said, “The Susmita and Subroto Bagchi Chair Professorship supports our interdisciplinary perspective around problem-solving and is a significant step towards attracting the best minds of the world to our School of Public Health. Through the School, we will seed teaching and research in one of the most critical areas of our times. We will establish a research programme around data and evidence in public health. Professor Joshipura has a vision and a strategic plan to build the School of Public Health at Ahmedabad University.”
Pressing need for such education
Explaining the pressing need for such education in the current circumstances, Prof Kaumudi Joshipura said, “Public Health faces multiple pressing challenges globally, with low public awareness and low prioritisation of resources. India has made great strides in recent decades, but still needs more well-trained professionals who can conduct high-quality research and solve complex problems.”
Ahmedabad University Chancellor Sanjay Lalbhai, who also chairs the prestigious Ahmedabad Education Society established in 1935 by his industrialist philanthropist father Kasturbhai Lalbhai, said, “When you compare the 1.2 billion people that India has and the outlay we are spending on health, you realise how insufficient it is.”
“The government is doing a lot but pushing all the problems there will not help. Private institutions need to come in to make a huge difference. We are aware that the challenges are immense. How do you deliver healthcare effectively to a large population using newer technologies? With the School of Public Health, we are going to create solutions.”
