Nicole Advani

Nicole Advani (IHTM 2019)

Healthcare Strategy and Transformation, Monitor Deloitte.

Background
Nicole is a global health professional with wide-ranging experience including global health equity and health technologies. She has experience working in national and international contexts in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America.

Prior to IHTM Nicole worked as a program manager for PATH on a series of projects such as health technologies for malaria and preeclampsia diagnostics development in various countries including Brazil, Uganda, Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa and India.  

Before joining Deloitte, Nicole managed projects for the UN, developing business and investment strategies for improved health outcomes in Rwanda, The World Bank focusing on COVID-19 preparedness programming and financing, and for UKCDR, analysing COVID-19 research activities to inform WHO research priorities.

Why IHTM?
Nicole’s experience shaped her interest in building technical expertise in the global public health space in an actionable way. IHTM provided the approach she was looking for with access to international experts practising in wide-ranging fields of global health, plus a small class size and practical delivery of the course.

Impact
IHTM highlighted the importance of multiple stakeholders working together for the benefit of public health equity with a global perspective on policies and practices. The course teaches students to think strategically and look at the big picture whilst also being able to drill down to the detail.

Nicole is keen to emphasise the effectiveness of the problem-based learning, PBL, approach used extensively in IHTM. She says,

“IHTM emphasises the importance of assessing global health through a holistic approach, not just focusing on access to quality care. PBLs are an effective way of undertaking complex health issues and trying to find a practical solution, implementing what you have learnt operationally.”

Nicole also valued the leadership and management teaching on the course and the emphasis of effectively communicating to different audiences.

The research placement was a practical application of IHTM teaching where students needed to consider factors such as the research question, methodology, ethics and funding to gain real world experience. Nicole concludes,

“IHTM gave me a solid technical foundation and the confidence to approach diverse global health challenges innovatively.”

The last word
“I learnt so much from IHTM through both the global experts within the faculty and from my fellow students who had far-reaching experience in diverse contexts. Our lecturers would go above and beyond to help us, and were a genuine connection with the global health space."