Kritika Singh is an expert in dealing with organising research and global health conferences. What’s more, she can even get people intrigued about improving healthcare worldwide. Ever since her high school years, she had swept herself in this work. In 2014, she became the proud founder of ‘Malaria-Free World’. It is a venture which promotes research and education about the disease. “I used to organise conferences in high school. There were a lot of people who joined the infectious disease research labs. It was due to the events we put on.” Singh said.
She is a student of Northeastern University and is now in the third year of bio-engineering. Singh realised that it is important to do something about global health. Northeastern’s Global Health Initiative was her brainchild. It is a two-day conference, covering the essentials, through panels and lectures. The main aim was to encourage students to connect with the speakers.
“I hope the topic of global health will be interesting to Northeastern students. It is so that people interested in these careers can involve themselves in this more,” Singh wishes. “I want students to connect on a personal level with panelists. It will be through the games and simulations. It’s going to be hands-on.”
The conference included 10 workshops which were effective and interactive. Attending students can also decide which guest should they will like to hear. One of the keynote speakers was Peter Hotez, a specialist in tropical diseases. Whereas, the other speaker was James Cusack, who helps improve surgery procedure. The conference also covered HIV prevention, human health, and the environment. Along with it, it also delved into AI in epidemics.
Singh herself asked questions to the speakers. It, as a result, inspired fellow students, to think about global health. Singh’s wish was fulfilled. Students from all sorts of disciplines attended the conference. Hugh Shirley, Stephanie Stumber, Francesca Giorgianni, and Adriell Louis helped her in. Singh lent her praise to her fellow Northeasterners and gave them all the credits.
“The organisation of the conference wouldn’t have happened without them. It was a true, coordinated team effort,” Singh says, on the event’s huge success.
Pranjali Wakde