INSP/ESPM obtains a record 16 scholarships for international mobility

The School of Public Health of Mexico (ESPM), through its Academic Exchange office, hit a historical milestone in July, having secured from diverse national and international organizations and foundations 16 scholarships granted to students of the various academic programs.

Never in the school’s 100-year history had so many scholarship been obtained and provided to students. 

It started in June 2022, when the Society of Epidemiological Research awarded five scholarships. The recipients were Angelica Jocelyn Jaen Acosta, candidate for Doctorate in Sciences in Population Nutrition; Erick Antonio Osorio López, Masters in Public Health with a concentration in Health Administration; Jaime Raul Adame Gallegos, Masters in Public Health (on-line program); Sofia Barragán Vázquez del Mercado, candidate for a Doctorate in Sciences in Epidemiology; and Sonia Collado López, Doctorate in Sciences in Population Nutrition. These five students attended to SER annual congress from June 14-17 in Chicago, Ill.

The purpose of this yearly event in Chicago is to bring together epidemiologists from the entire professional gamut – from students to experienced scientists – to discuss topics related to emerging epidemiological research. The meeting, according to the SER website, “is nestled in the heart of SER’s mission to promote epidemiological research and support young researchers.”

In 2019, the Jenkins Foundation as part of its 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation initiative reviewed a proposal and approved funding for a student exchange program for the INSP and the University of Illinois Chicago. Three students from INSP travelled to Chicago and two UIC students went to Mexico – to immerse themselves in public health projects as a requirement to obtain their MPH degree. Those funds were awarded in July after being on hold for two years due to the pandemic. The recipients were Ana Laura Rodríguez, MPH with an Aging concentration; César Martínez Rangel, MPH Environmental Health; and Karen Lucero Quintero Magaña MPH Social and Behavioral Sciences. Depending on the student’s expertise, they were assigned to different public health projects under supervision of professors of the UIC School of Public Health. As an example of the work conducted, Cesar Martinez’s work includes learning about the history of the methods used for monitoring beach water quality at recreational beaches in the United States. 

ESPM celebrated another first-in-history. The Vanke School of Public Health of Tsinguha University of China, invited Mexican students to apply for six scholarships for its online summer school 2022. The students who applied were Blanca Margarita Cruz Badillo, Preventive Medicine and MPH in Health Administration; Jurgen Adam Sanchez MPH Social and Behavioral Sciences; Karla Fabiola Rangel Moreno, ScD in Epidemiology; Selene Saibeth Chacon Hernández, MPH on-line program; Sergio Oswaldo Angeles Garibay and Yessika Mariela Corona Ramírez, both MPH in Health Administration. The course included workshops and lectures on climate change, healthy cities, mental health and Chinese Health System. 

Also in July, the Mexican Foundation for Health and the Switzerland-Mexican Chamber of Commerce and Industry awarded two scholarships for INSP students in order to take some in-person courses in the Lugano Summer School in Public Health Policy, Economics and Management at the Swiss School of Public Health. The students were Brianda Loanna Armenta Guirado from the ScD in Population Nutrition, and Israel Herrera Ramírez ScD in Health Systems. 

The ESPM are grateful for the support from these partner foundations and organizations and congratulate its selected students. Through these activities, the National Institute of Public Health/ESPM reaffirms its commitment to training human resources with a global perspective, one of its central objectives as a school of public health.