This university in Singapore is offering a master's degree in infectious disease emergencies. Here's who should apply.

Five years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are still plenty of lessons to learn. Now, the National University of Singapore is offering a new Master of Science program in Infectious Diseases Emergencies (MSc IDE) to help prepare for the future. April 30 is the deadline to register for the inaugural year-long program, which begins in July.

The program is led by Professor Dale Fisher, an infectious diseases doctor and professor who has played a leadership role in Singapore's response to recent pandemics, including SARS and COVID-19.

He is also the chief editor of "Infectious Disease Emergencies: Preparedness and Response," a textbook that features evidence-based and practical insights from more than 100 experts in the field, about 20 of whom will act as instructors for the program. The innovative textbook, which took three years to complete, provides the backbone for the course material.

"I think there's just been a realization that infectious disease emergencies exist, and they don't only exist in low and middle income countries — they can affect everyone," he said, pointing to the fact that some countries didn't initially take the threat of Covid seriously because it was far away from them.

"This isn't just a health department thing or a doctor thing," he said. "On the preparedness side of it, you can't just suddenly scoop everything together when an outbreak occurs; you've got to be prepared, you've got to have resilient communities and resilient health systems."

The program is set to attract applicants from across industries and different countries and disciplines

The MSc IDE is designed for recent graduates or people in the early stages of their career: healthcare professionals, public health officials, and policymakers looking to strengthen their capabilities in responding to global health threats and contributing to global infectious disease preparedness. That diversity of applicants is something Fisher said is unique to this program.

"We don't just want a roomful of doctors learning about this," he said. "We want operations people and paramedics and nurses and infection control experts and epidemiologists — all people interested in government leadership."

National University of Singapore

Though Asia was the initial target for the program, which could have up to 80 students, Fisher said they are seeing interest from across the globe. The program also offers flexibility for students who may not want to, or be able to, move to Singapore for the year, because it only requires face-to-face attendance for three weeks at the beginning and two weeks at the end of each of the two semesters of the program. The months in the middle will be devoted to self-directed learning and virtual lessons.

Self-directed learning will be critical to make the most of the MSc.

The program has three core courses: Leadership and Coordination, Surveillance and Epidemiology, and Communications and Engagement in a Crisis. Elective courses include Interventions for Outbreak Control, Research in a Pandemic, and Mental Health and Support for the Vulnerable.

Because the course can't go in-depth into each student's home country's policies on infectious diseases, the program will provide material that explores a specific country's current response to health emergencies to be completed as part of the self-directed learning alongside a local mentor. "We think this is a good way to contextualize for our participants," Fisher said.

The MSc IDE joins other MSc programs within NUS, including Behavioural and Implementation Sciences in Health, Precision Health and Medicine, Biomedical Informatics, Sustainable Healthcare, and Biomedical Engineering.

Find out more about the MSc IDE program and registration.

This post was created by Insider Studios with National University of Singapore.