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11 Years of Impact: McGill Summer Institutes in Global Health
First launched in 2015, the McGill Summer Institutes (SI) in Global Health began with five short, in-person courses.
Since then, the SI has grown into an internationally recognized educational platform that advances knowledge, collaboration, and capacity building in global health, infectious diseases, and health equity. Over the past 11 years, the program has welcomed more than 8,280 learners from around the world.
Hosted by the Department of Global and Public Health at the School of Population and Global Health (SPGH), the SI fosters capacity building and networking among policymakers, academic researchers, health professionals, and industry participants. A central focus of the program is expanding access to high-quality learning opportunities for practitioners, community leaders, patients, and advocates from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and low-resource settings.
The 2026 edition marked several important milestones. In May, the SI received the Education Impact Award from the Office of the Vice-Dean, Education and Community Engagement. The program also offered 17 online and hybrid courses across May and June—the largest course offering in its history.
Madhukar Pai, MD, PhD, Chair of the Department of Global and Public Health, served as the program's original academic lead and architect. Reflecting on the origins of the SI, he explains:
“I knew we were offering great education to students at McGill, but what about learners, especially working professionals and practitioners, in low- and middle-income countries? They too deserve access to affordable and quality education.”
This success was made possible thanks to the collaboration of our valued academic partners including the McGill International TB Centre, MI4 the J.D. Maclean Centre for Tropical Diseases, MI4, the McGill AMR Centre, the McGill Centre for Viral Diseases, the School of Population and Global Health, the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, the University of Ottawa, the Nkabom Collaborative, the CAN-AMR Network, Results Canada, and the McGill Centre of Genomics and Policy.
We are equally grateful to our sponsors whose generous support expanded access for learners worldwide.
As we close this special anniversary edition, we look ahead to the future. We can’t wait to welcome you again next year in Montreal, online, or both! Course announcements for Summer 2027 will be shared later this year. Stay tuned!