Student Leaders Programme

Students from the University of Edinburgh were at the heart of the Edinburgh Futures Conversations, with more than 400 students attending the 2 March 2021 event.

One group of students were deeply engaged in the lead up and aftermath to this global discussion through participation in the Edinburgh Futures Institute’s (EFI) Student Leaders Programme. In a series of online workshops and discussions, students from different disciplines considered what needs to change, how our University can have the most impact and what changes are needed now to deliver long term benefits in global health.

The inaugural student programme was delivered by EFI and gave students unprecedented opportunities to engage with critical issues, global leaders and world-leading experts. Student involvement was welcomed by panellists like Peter Singer, adviser to Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of WHO and by Dr Chelsea Clinton.

Led by Ellen MacRae, Edinburgh University Students’ Association President, and Professor Liz Grant, Assistant Principal Global Health, student participants drafted and shared their own six key areas for change which they developed in response to the programme. The EFI Student Leaders Programme also informed the Conversations through engagement with the facilitators and in briefings to delegates.

In this excerpt from the "Towards a declaration of principles" session Ellen reflects on student engagement.

Also featured: Professor Lesley McAra (Director of the Edinburgh Futures Institute), Professor Elizabeth Bradley (President of Vassar College), The Honorable Mark Dybul (Former Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria and Co-Director of the Center for Global Health Practice and Impact), Sarah Henry (Executive Director Global Centre for Gender Equality, Stanford University), Professor Phil Cotton (Head Scholars Programme Mastercard Foundation)

Full seminar videos

We want our University to prioritise and lead across the areas we’ve identified. We are going to continue our work to develop and communicate the students’ ideas and we will work with the University to ensure they achieve maximum impact for improved global health

This was such an amazing event to attend especially in the background of the global pandemic. So many inspiring speakers, Professor Devi Sridhar has been a voice of sense and science throughout the pandemic and also Dr Peter Singer with his message to young people. Thank you so much for arranging this event.

The call for global solidarity and shared responsibility was inspiring but it is also the challenge facing us. When we most need international collaboration we are becoming more nationalistic and inward looking. We must use our privilege to try to solve these problems.