My Highlight of 2021 by Geraldine Beaujean

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"The SHEC team shows resilience: doing the utmost to stay connected in remote work.

During the past year it became even more clear: ‘Every healthcare system is only as strong as its weakest link’. That gave us the courage to continue collaborating to strengthen health professions education worldwide."

In some collaborations the internet coverage and electricity supply are as predictable as the sun rising in the morning. In others, it is a struggle to find ways to communicate. Staying in touch with partners who work under such hard conditions has been a big challenge.

Our working week has fundamentally changed. We spend a lot more time at our desks at the university or at home than we are used to. Steering committee meetings, development of project proposals and production of reports, supervision of training courses, coaching of staff is basically done through our laptops. ‘Managing by Zooming around’ is not healthy nor very effective but often the only option open. And we have other concerns on our minds, about family and relatives, about team members, and about our partners and their families, relatives and colleagues in many other countries. We miss the personal contact, the inspiring chance conversations, the visitors and the travelling.

Nevertheless, we stayed open, managed to find small windows of opportunities to meet. Just enough to realize some great projects! Thanks to the SHEC team and her partners who show ongoing resilience: doing the utmost to stay connected in remote work.

Watch some of the SHE Collaborates projects of 2021 here

We are especially proud of the opening of the UCP Medical School on September 13, 2021 welcoming their first 50 students. SHE Collaborates started in 2018 a collaboration with Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP), with the aim of establishing a Medical School, in 2021 we celebrated the festive opening together.