Panama City, Panama, November 22, 2024 (PAHO)- The Virtual Campus of Public Health (VCPH) of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) organized a workshop in Panama City from 20-21 November, focused on strengthening its quality management system and aligning its standards with international best practices. The workshop "Educational Quality Management of the Virtual Campus and Collaborative Networks" brought together representatives of partner institutions, collaborating centers, country nodes and regional leaders in education and health, with the aim of reviewing, standardizing and validating the educational quality criteria of the Virtual Campus.
“This space for discussion and collaboration is an opportunity to consolidate strategic alliances and reflects the Virtual Campus' commitment to continuous improvement, excellence in education and training of human resources for health,” said Gabriel Listovsky, head of the Virtual Campus Special Program.
The activities included panel discussions and collaborative work sessions where participants explored key topics such as governance, instructional design, lifelong learning, research as evidence for the development of educational proposals, educational evaluation methodologies and accessibility of courses. They also discussed the formation of a Virtual Campus quality advisory group to guide future strategic actions.
“This initiative reinforces our goal of ensuring inclusive, equitable and quality education, through dialogue with key stakeholders this meeting is cementing the foundations to consolidate an educational agenda that promotes innovation, quality and sustainability in Virtual Campus products and services in the Region,” said Gabriel Listovsky.
The workshop was attended by Yohanna Díaz del Valle, PAHO Human Resources for Health Unit; Anna Mazenod, WHO Academy; Arlene Calvo, Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH); Roberta Landenhein, Universidad Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires (UHIBA); Wendy Sealy, University of the West Indies (UWI); Fernando Daniels, International University Organization (IOU); Vannina Trentin, International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Office for Latin America and the Caribbean; Gabriel Muntaabski, Joaquim Venâncio Polytechnic School of Health (EPSJV, FIOCRUZ), the School of Public Health of Mexico; Heleni Aires Clemente, Laboratory of Technological Innovation in Health - Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte; Marcelo Garcia Dieguez, National University of the South; Bernardo Hernandez Prado, School of Public Health of Mexico; Stella Porto, Inter-American Development Bank, among others.
As a special PAHO program, the Virtual Campus operates through a decentralized network of individuals, institutions and organizations that share open educational resources on public health issues relevant to the Region of the Americas, through the use of information and communication technologies.
For more information on the Public Health Virtual Campus and its initiatives, visit the Virtual Campus website.
