Solutions that stick: activating cross-disciplinary collaboration in a graduate-level public health innovations course at the University of California, Berkeley

Abstract

Since 2011 we have taught a public health innovations course at the University of California, Berkeley. Students gain skills in systematic innovation, or human-centered design, while working in small interdisciplinary teams on domestic and global health projects with client organizations. To support acquisition of meaningful problem-solving skills, we structured the course so that the majority of learning happens in scenarios that do not involve faculty. Taken by students representing 26 graduate programs (as diverse as epidemiology, city planning, and mechanical engineering), it is one of the 10 highest-rated courses offered by the School of Public Health. We present the blueprints for our course with the hope that other institutions whose students could benefit will borrow from our model.

FIGURE 1—

Public health innovations course student enrollment by program: University of California, Berkeley, 2011–2014. Note. ARCH = Architecture MArch/PhD; DRPH = Doctor of Public Health; EECS = Electrical Engineering and Computer Science MS/PhD; EHS = Environmental Health Sciences MPH/MS/PhD; ENVENG = Environmental Engineering MS/PhD; EPI = Epidemiology MPH/MS/PhD; ERG = Energy and Resources Group MS/PhD; ESPM = Environmental Science, Policy and Management PhD; HPM = Health Policy and Management MPH; HSB = Health and Social Behavior MPH; IDV = Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology MPH; INTERD = Interdisciplinary MPH; ISCHOOL = Master of Information Management and Systems; JMP = Joint Medical Program MS/MD; JOURNAL = Master of Journalism; MBA = Masters of Business Administration; MCH = Maternal and Child Health MPH; MCP = Master of City Planning; ME = Mechanical Engineering MS/PhD; MPH = Masters of Public Health; MPP = Masters of Public Policy; MSW = Master of Social Work; MTM = Master of Translational Medicine; NEURO = Neuroscience MS/PhD; NUTRI = Nutrition MPH; NUTRI-RD = Registered Dietitian; UCSF/DPH = University of California, San Francisco Dental Public Health. A total of 26 graduate programs were represented across four years, more than 50% from outside the School of Public Health. The six programs that contributed the most students were Health Policy and Management MPH (14 students), Haas School of Business MBA (10), Health and Social Behavior MPH (9), Interdisciplinary MPH (8), Nutrition MPH (7), and Goldman School of Public Policy MPP (5).