Networks and collaborations at the Centre for Health Crises
To collaborate with actors within and outside KI, nationally and internationally, is essential for the Centre. It enables us to utilise and expand our competence in our areas of expertise, ensures that our external monitoring remains up-to-date, and enables us to reach to where our skills and knowledge is needed the most. At present, we focus on collaboration with other universities and with agencies through which we can lend support in ongoing crises.
Collaborations with universities and institutes of higher learning
We intend to collaborate with other universities both within our areas of expertise, but also forge new, cross-disciplinary collaborations.
An example of an ongoing interdisciplinary collaboration is the work we do in the university alliance Stockholm Trio on the theme of climate and health. In this collaboration, we work with KTH Climate Action Centre and the Bolin Centre for Climate Research at Stockholm University to find common ground for research and teaching initiatives that focuses on the point of intersection of climate and health.
To collaborate within KI is also important to advance our work and learn from others. Since our work spans across so many traditional disciplines and requires multifaceted skillsets to be effective, we are always interested in reaching out to departments, centres, and units at the university. At present we enjoy close connections to the Centre for Research on Health Care in Disasters and the National Pandemic Centre, to name two.
In late December 2022, we received funding from the Swedish government to investigate how to increase knowledge on health crises and to increase collaborations with other Swedish universities in 2023.
Our work in this area is ongoing and we welcome feedback and suggestions from universities and institutes on higher learning on how to develop and advance it. At present our focus lies on collaborations with Swedish universities, but we intend to expand and welcome collaborations with international institutes of higher learning. If you are interested, please contact Caroline de Groot, or get in touch directly with one of our expert coordinators.
Collaborations and networks nationally and internationally
Collaborations occur both at a specialised level, within each area of expertise or across multiple areas, as well as on a general level where the Centre as a whole collaborates with other partners. We continuously map contexts and scout for forums that are relevant to participate in.
In a Swedish context, the Centre is engaged with national agencies such as the National Board of Health and Welfare, the Civil Contingencies Agency, and the Public Health Agency of Sweden. Additionally, within each area of expertise, collaborations occur with counterparts whose activities are relevant to the specific field, both locally, nationally, regionally and internationally. These are further outlined in the presentations of each area of expertise.
Considering our mission is to build the next generation of health crises experts, we place special value on student involvement and welcome student participation in our activities. We have signed a Letter of Intent with IFMSA Sweden (International Federation of Medical Students' Associations) and intend to continue to develop ways of interacting and interlinking with students and student groups.
Our international network includes connections to the World Health Organization (WHO), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), other universities and organisations with a specific focus on health crises. These collaborations are vital for us, in order to remain up-to-date in our analysis, our research, and teaching, and not least to be able to make sure our expertise reaches to where it is sought after.
Partners for secondment of experts
In line with one of our Strategic Objectives, we strive to assist in ongoing health crises and initiatives to increase preparedness for future crises. In order to do so, we collaborate with organisations that conduct work across different disciplines in various types of health crises. Through such collaborations, we can second personnel that is connected to us and thus facilitate ways that their skills and expertise are made available when and where they are needed. Across our various areas of expertise we continuously investigate how this can be developed in the most mutually beneficial manner possible.
At present, our partners for this type of collaboration include: