To Serving the World

A message from Stephen Eckel, Associate Dean for Global Engagement

Story by Stephen Eckel | Published February 7, 2023

Six students standing outside a pharmacy. Two from UNC, two from UCL, two from Monash University

Many times I get asked about the impact of global engagement during the COVID pandemic. While we have not been hosting international guests and traveling to various cities to visit, our engagement with others has not stopped. The impact of virtual platforms allow you to have in meetings in the morning in Europe or the Middle East and afternoon interactions with Australia. In some ways our interactions have been deeper and more meaningful, because we utilize every opportunity to see how others are coping as we have not had the opportunity to see each other at various meetings.

During the past year, we have re started the Global Pharmacy Scholars program, sending our first students abroad in over two years to Tokyo in July. This has been followed up with nine pharmacy students throughout the fall traveling to Malawi. The Office of Global Engagement is supporting a local Malawian pharmacist who is our main preceptor in country. Besides ensuring these students are safe and remain healthy during their travels, we are so excited that they have the opportunity to experience the world. We hope to deepen their understanding of various cultures that they can bring back to NC as they work as pharmacists, realizing that our state is very diverse.

Headshot of Stephen Eckel, PharmD, MHA

Stephen Eckel, Associate Dean for Global Engagement

In addition to the students traveling, many of our faculty are back speaking and attending international meetings. Our PharmAlliance partnership remains strong and vibrant, having the opportunity to see everyone this past fall in London. While mobility has returned, our use of virtual platforms has continued. We held our annual summer school whereby global students get a chance to learn from our world-renowned faculty and excellent graduate students. Our goal over the next few years is to continue to expose our students to global engagement throughout the curriculum and to utilize opportunities for other students to interact with our faculty.

This piece comes from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy’s 2022 Impact Report. Read the full report here.

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