The University of Melbourne and the Public Health Foundation of India has signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to continue with their long-standing collaboration and partnership.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed on September 28 between delegation led by Nicola Phillips, University of Melbourne Provost Professor; Professor Sanjay Zodpey, President of the Public Health Foundation of India and Lisa Singh, CEO of the Australia India Institute. The first Memorandum of Understanding was signed in 2009. This was further escalated with a Student Exchange Agreement developed and signed in 2017.
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The signing the new Memorandum of Understanding is aimed at strengthening the relationship between the two organisation. It will also continue to grow the global community of scholars and partners. Professor Phillips noted at the event that two institutions have worked very closely together since the establishment of Public Health Foundation of India addressing global, complex challenges in global health, and sharing expertise and experiences to advance health outcomes in India and beyond. He added that the new agreement demonstrates a commitment to the important relationship between the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health at the University and the Nossal Institute, and the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI).
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Over the years, the partnership between the organisations has achieved the creation of the VirtuCare (Virtual Healthcare Network) project, supported by the University of Melbourne, Australia India Institute, the Emmanuel Hospital Association, University of Adelaide to develop inclusive models for delivering virtual healthcare. The partnership also worked on Deployment of the Rapid Assessment of Disability tool developed by the Nossal Institute and adapted for partners in India and subsequent research on the impact of Organisations of People with Disability.
The collaboration worked on joint delivery of the Excellence in Non Communicable disease Research (ENCORE) programme which held a number of student and joint faculty training activities in India and Australia. The programme cultivated and advanced research collaborations and exchanges between the University of Melbourne and some of India's top public health and medical research institutes.