Thinley Dorji, a graduate from the MPH 12th Batch participated and represented the James P Grant School of Public Health as a TDR Fellow at the TDR International Postgraduate Training Scheme 2nd Technical Meeting 2017. Held from 31 May – 2 June in Geneva, Switzerland, the technical meeting reviewed the implementation experience of seven universities and finalised the implementation strategy of next biennium of TDR Scheme and developed core competencies of implementation research.
Mr. Dorji, an MPH alum from Bhutan who is currently working as a medical officer for the government in his country, was selected to participate and present his Summative Learning Project cross sectional study on factors associated with nutritional status among Extra Pulmonary Tuberculosis (EPTB) in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
In addition to one TDR Fellow from each university, a faculty team from JPGSPH including Professor Malabika Sarker (Principle Lead, TDR Scheme), Dr. Aftab Uddin (Co-Lead, TDR Scheme), and Md. Koushik Ahmed (Coordinator, TDR Scheme) participated in the technical meeting that aimed at sharing experiences of the seven implementing universities.
At the meeting, Professor Sarker shared the experience of JPGSPH in implementing the Scheme with the TDR. She argued that one of the challenges was the lack of opportunities and platform for cross-country learning and experience. She also emphasised the need to explore collaboration opportunities across the implementing universities beyond TDR scheme.