Alumni Stories
A passion for public health
Dr Sunil George delivers a postgraduate course suited to students from a range of professional and tertiary backgrounds, with all of them sharing a passion for change-making and addressing social inequalities.
He has taken the reins as Discipline Lead of the University of Canberra’s Master of Public Health . It comes at a time when the world is grappling with a rise in health inequalities due to climate change, socioeconomic status, and global conflict, where access to basic healthcare and humanitarian aid is under threat.
For Sunil, these issues are what drive him to ensure the next generation of professionals are equipped to explore solutions and make an impact.
“We have students who are working in government or not-for-profit sectors, and we hear stories about what they have achieved – as an educator, that’s when you know you have made a difference.”
The Master of Public Health course is designed to be inclusive and flexible, catering to a diverse range of students. The course offers online study options, which are particularly beneficial for domestic students with caring responsibilities or full-time jobs.
“The course can be done in a self-paced fashion as long as students complete their requirements within the semester, and there is personalised support available for such students, so they don’t fall behind,” Sunil says.
“It really doesn’t matter what your undergraduate degree is, there is one thing that matters: you need to have that drive to make an impact, a passion to be a change maker – that’s the recipe for success in public health.”
Sunil’s pathway into public health serves as a perfect example of the diverse professional backgrounds in public health.
“I was a software engineer who got bored with playing with computers and decided I wanted to do something which could make an impact in society. I wanted to be known for a change that I have made,” he says.
Sunil’s journey in public health started in 2004 on the streets of Bengaluru, in southern India, where he worked alongside people living with HIV needing access to antiretroviral therapy (ART). While the government of India had launched a free ART program in April that year, it was limited to a few centres and not widely accessible. Access to ART was further complicated by the stigma and discrimination that people living with HIV faced due to their infection.
A couple of years later, Sunil enrolled in a Master of Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
“It was during my master’s that I fell in love with conducting research, thanks to the research project I had to do as part of the coursework,” Sunil says.
On his return to India, Sunil found there were often barriers in providing health services to the communities who need them most. After a decade of working with the Public Health Foundation of India, He came to UC as a postgraduate student and focused his PhD research to study the impact of social exclusion on access to healthcare for Indigenous communities in Kerala, India. These communities are considered vulnerable and in danger of losing their culture and language, while also facing serious issues with accessing appropriate healthcare.
“It’s ironic that most of my work now is with computers – but this field is not just about health, it’s about development. It’s about working with big data. It’s about identifying patterns and trends,” Sunil says.
Students who graduate with a Master of Public Health could go on to work in areas like the Australian Government’s Closing the Gap strategy, to achieve equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in health and life expectancy within a generation; or working to address challenges faced by culturally and linguistically diverse communities; and removing barriers to healthcare access to ensure everyone can enjoy the best quality of life.
“Our course is focused on building skills, knowledge, and capacities for those who come to our course to address issues that contribute to inequalities in society,” Sunil says.
Students are required to complete a set of core units that ground them in the basics of public health, covering topics like epidemiology, biostatistics, health systems, and health policy.
“After six months, you have seen the broad range of what you can do in public health and can then pick and choose electives in a way that actually caters to your professional interests and passions,” Sunil says.
“For example, a student from a nutrition background can choose to pick up nutrition and a few other courses to specialise as a public health nutritionist. Someone interested in Closing the Gap can choose more of Indigenous health and then things like health systems and policy.”
Sunil highlights the innovative pedagogy and assessment practices within the course, with a focus on Work Integrated Learning, research and gaining real-world insights into the field of public health.
“We recently had six of our Master of Public Health students, who are completing their unit on policy and public health, present a three-minute pitch to former ACT Health Minister Megan Fitzharris. They presented a problem and offered a unique solution and pitched for funding from the government to implement their solution over the next three years.”
The course also benefits from its association with the Health Research Institute (HRI), an interdisciplinary team at UC conducting research that impacts policy and practice. HRI provides access to the latest research in public health and connects students with researchers who are leaders in their fields.
“We have incredible researchers from HRI who teach and present case studies, so students are informed about the latest research that is happening in public health across Australia, and across the globe,” Sunil says.
Sunil’s dedication to public health education is evident in his enthusiasm for the curriculum and the impact it has on students. His leadership is driving change by equipping students with the skills and knowledge to address societal inequalities and make a meaningful impact on communities worldwide.
“The curriculum that we teach is research-informed, and learning is not just classroom-based. It’s based on a lot of group learning activities, authentic assessment, and building skills that the students will find incredibly valuable when they get into their chosen field.”
Words by Emma Larouche, photos by Liam Budge and supplied.