Elective module: internationally linked research hubs

Tackling health challenges in internationally linked research hubs: Framing solutions

The elective Master’s course offered jointly by University of Montpellier, University of Barcelona and Utrecht University fosters an international network of research hubs dedicated to addressing global health challenges with a student-centric approach. Emphasizing the cultivation of transversal skills essential for effective research, the course aims to equip students with the tools necessary to excel as researchers and prepare them for future internships and career opportunities. Students engage in interdisciplinary teamwork focused on a real-world health challenge, with the theme for the 2026/27 edition being “From autoimmunity to new approach methodologies: bridging immunology, inflammation and experimental innovation”. This theme evolves annually to address current issues. Collaborating across partner universities, students form subgroups representing diverse disciplinary backgrounds to devise hypotheses and draft research proposals aimed at addressing the chosen challenge. On-site conference at University of Utrecht is organized at the beginning of the course with representatives of various aspects of the chosen topic—including patients, patient advocacy groups, medical professionals, companies and researchers—who provide insights from their respective perspectives. Throughout the module, students participate in (hybrid) plenary workshops, skill-development lectures, and collaborative work sessions led by principal investigators from the research hubs. The culmination of the course involves the collaborative production of a written research proposal and presentation, which students pitch at the conclusion. Selected students who have participated in the course also have the opportunity to undertake up to a six-month unit internship/lab component starting in January/February 2027. On successful completion of the module students should be able to:  

• Collaborate with stakeholders from different domains, disciplines, and social groups, including scientists, medical specialists, patients, society, industry, and policymakers, to design solutions to health challenges in a transdisciplinary manner. 
• Develop and translate cross-sectoral, context-specific strategies/interventions within the continuum of fundamental science to pharmaceutical industry, policymaking, and social, economic, cultural, and environmental determinants of health problems. 
• Demonstrate comprehensive and critical awareness of health challenges and their interconnections with One Health and Environmental & Planetary Health, including ethical approaches, personalized disease management, and societal needs. 
• Formulate hypotheses based on current literature and cutting-edge data, identify appropriate methodologies. 
• Analyse the principles of evidence-based translational medicine, including its application from bench to bedside and society, and vice versa. 
• Summarize the key concepts and theories of the study subject, including the pathophysiology, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and management of both communicable and non-communicable diseases with high disease burden and mortality, as well as their associated risk factors.