Maintaining and improving the health of its citizens is one of the most important functions of any government at any time as the world struggles to curb the spread of Covid-19. The current pandemic has made clear the importance of quality health care, and more specialists are needed globally. A career in public health is a rewarding one since the work has a positive impact on society, not to mention it typically provides financial stability. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), careers in health education and community health are projected to grow faster than average over the next decade. Public health care is a broad field of study. Coursework may include many business-based modules, while also delving into medical subjects such as health policy, hospital management, as well as the emotional and practical sides of health. These various topics come with an added focus on leadership and collaboration to help students work through future challenges in their jobs and optimise their everyday public health practice. In Hong Kong, several leading universities are already offering postgraduate courses in public health care. Unlike a medical degree programme, students without a science background are eligible to study for a Master of Science in Public Health (MPH). Most universities offer a full- or part-time degree programme so that busy learners can further their education in a way that is convenient for them. One institution that has made huge strides in this particular field is Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU). Its MSc in Environmental and Public Health Management programme is designed to equip students with management skills in environmental science, technology and public health care that would collectively contribute to a healthier and more environmentally friendly society. According to Dr Chung Shan-shan, HKBU’s senior lecturer and director for this MSc programme, the course explores in detail relationships among economics, regulation and policy, management techniques, health risk analysis, social and ethical value, and environmental conservation. It is also the only university in Hong Kong that integrates environment and public health in its MPH programme. Students learn key skills to tackle complex contemporary environmental issues such as how to set up and perform internal audits for organisations, develop strategies for management on conservation of important resources – such as water, soil, solid waste – and how to evaluate results. They will also learn the importance of biodiversity and how to carry out carbon accounting, track carbon footprints and carbon neutrality, and conduct carbon trading. Students also learn about the hazards of pollutants to public health. At HKBU, individual and group assignments, projects and verbal presentations take up 70 per cent of coursework requirements, and course contents are updated every semester, if not every month. “The latest trends, technologies, policy measures, legal requirements and even ethical practices will be included in course teaching as long as they are relevant to the course content,” explains Dr Chung. “A case in point is the inclusion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG). Known as sustainability management systems, it teaches students how to respond to society’s call for environmental sustainability.” Most students who apply to the programme hope to improve or expand their career prospects or increase their chances of getting a promotion, says Dr Chung. Besides wanting to learn more about how to deal with environmental pollution and the associated health risks, students also choose this programme over others because of the extensive choices available both in terms of course numbers (five electives) and its subjects which cover food safety, occupational health and safety management. According to Dr Chung, around half of the students who attend HKBU’s programme come from a non-science background, having already studied law, language, journalism, accounting or finance. The course also attracts number of students from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) of the Hong Kong Government. The latest trends, technologies, policy measures, legal requirements and even ethical practices will be included in course teaching as long as they are relevant to the course content Dr Chung Shan-shan, Hong Kong Baptist University To cope with Covid-19 restrictions, which disrupted in-class learning, necessary facilities to conduct classes online were put in place as early as the beginning of 2020. Foreign and mainland Chinese students who were unable to travel to the SAR to attend classes or sit exams were allowed to postpone their studies for one semester. Baptist University’s MPH students also stand to gain international exposure from overseas internships. “We sent students to WHO’s headquarters in Geneva as interns in the past, though this was suspended for 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic,” says Dr Chung. For students who cannot afford to pay the full tuition fee to pursue this programme, but have good academic and English test results, the university offers a wide range of financial assistance in the form of scholarships and bursaries. Upon completion of their course, student will also receive updates regarding career and internship opportunities, seminars and news of the alumni from the MPH faculty. Dr Chung says many graduates also ask for reference letters years after their graduation. Another university that boasts a vibrant MPH programme is the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). The programme has been in existence since 1996 and is designed to prepare students to address public health emergencies such as the current Covid-19 pandemic. “We aim to cultivate our students with broad-based perspectives and the experience to work across a range of public health settings. Our teaching integrates theory with practical skills and delivers an internationally benchmarked curriculum that will position students to eventually assume greater leadership roles in public health practice as they progress in their careers,” says Professor Samuel Wong Yeung-shan, director of CUHK’s School of Public Health and Primary Care. The university’s degree requires students to take seven core courses. Upon completion of these courses, they must acquire an additional 10 units within their chosen field of study or concentrations. The programme currently offers five concentration options – epidemiology and biostatistics; environmental/occupational health and infectious diseases; health systems, policy and management; health promotion and social behaviour; and lastly, population and global health. Students must attain a total of at least 36 credit units to gain an MPH degree. In addition, students are required to undertake a final capstone project in their chosen field of study. Some of CUHK’s students have had their capstone project published in international peer-reviewed journals, a testament to the university’s rigorous and demanding standard of academic excellence. Another factor that sets CUHK apart from other universities is that it is the only institution in Hong Kong where public health practitioners and researchers work alongside family physicians and primary care researchers to identify, examine and solve community health problems together. “We are a comprehensive school with teaching disciplines spanning from epidemiology to global health and our course is currently the flagship programme of the Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care (JCSPHPC),” says Professor Wong. JCSPHPC is the first and only institution in Hong Kong that provides a platform for the integration of public health, primary care and family medicine teaching and research. Professor Wong emphasises that research is an integral part of CUHK’s mission to improve health and well-being for all. “We concern ourselves with the wider environment around us, both locally and globally, which influences how we live, and how it impacts our health and well-being,” he adds. Professor Wong says CUHK’s MPH programme is not limited to medically trained professionals. Graduates from other disciplines are accepted as long as they have a keen interest to improve society’s health. The programme also welcomes international students. Our teaching integrates theory with practical skills and delivers an internationally benchmarked curriculum that will position students to eventually assume greater leadership roles in public health practice as they progress in their careers Professor Samuel Wong Yeung-shan, Chinese University of Hong Kong Professor Wong points out that CUHK’s curriculum is an international one and is benchmarked against international MPH standards, referencing competencies outlined in the Certified Public Health (CPH) exam of the US National Board of Public Health Examiners, plus the UK Faculty of Public Health Examinations. To keep up to date with public health issues, CUHK consistently offers new elective courses such as digital epidemiology, artificial intelligence methods for medical research, pharmaceutical science and driving health care improvement in data. These elective courses are designed to provide students with the latest scientific advances so they can tackle current and evolving public health challenges. CUHK also boasts a faculty of educators with advanced degrees from Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Karolinska Institue, University of Toronto and University of Oxford. Over the years, its in-house faculty has included the president of the UK Faculty of Public Health, director of Clinton Health Access Initiative and president of Hong Kong Médecins Sans Frontières and the former Secretary of Health and Welfare for Hong Kong. To broaden students’ public health perspectives, Professor Wong says students embark on field trips to rural disaster zones to conduct research in other parts of the world, such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East and rural areas in mainland China, in addition to visits to Hong Kong hospitals and public health organisations. To cope with the pandemic, Professor Wong says CUHK acted promptly to address the crisis. Classes were suspended in early February 2020 and online Zoom teaching was quickly adopted. Given that the situation has stabilised in Hong Kong this year, the university has resumed face-to-face academic and student activities on campus with safety guidelines put in place. Other special arrangements, such as lecture recordings and individualised online tutorials, have been drawn up for students who have difficulties returning to the university. Another learning institution with a robust MPH programme is the University of Hong Kong (HKU). The city’s oldest university is well known as a research-led comprehensive university and its faculty is highly regarded and prepares students from diverse backgrounds to effectively practise public health care in both the local community and international arena. HKU’s MPH programme is wide-ranging and student-centric, and provides a problem-based learning environment designed to encourage the acquisition of knowledge in biostatistics, environmental health sciences, epidemiology, health policy and administration, and social and behavioural sciences. Students also learn about the competencies required in public health and administrative medicine, including communication and informatics, leadership, diversity and culture, programme planning, epidemiology and decision analysis. Dr Wendy Lam, the Academic Director of the MPH programme at HKU, says students who enrol for the course are those who are concerned about the health of populations, believe in disease prevention, are passionate about health care equity, and want to improve health systems and the quality of health care in their community. “Our students are very diverse and come from a wide range of academic backgrounds. This diversity enriches the overall academic experience of our students and enables them to tackle challenges through different lenses. HKU adopts an interdisciplinary approach to problem-solving which is essential for the practice of public health, for population-based primary care, and for evaluating clinical effectiveness in medicine,” says Dr Lam. The MPH programme covers coursework in public health, epidemiology and statistics, health economics, policy and management, and behavioural sciences. HKU also incorporates a practical component which provides students with the opportunity to develop and apply public health knowledge and skills acquired academically in real-life work settings. The HKU course is also an applicant for accreditation by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). CEPH-accredited schools have to meet stringent standards and programmes are peer-reviewed so students can be assured of a quality educational experience. When Covid-19 disrupted on-campus learning and cancelled classes in early February last year, HKU quickly moved to hybrid and online learning. To transition to remote learning, courses and assessments were redesigned. “Although we have now resumed face-to-face learning, we shall continue to incorporate different forms of online learning to enrich the overall teaching and learning experience for our students,” adds Dr Lam.