Public Health Study Tour with Chiang Mai University

Over November and December, I had the honour of participating in a Public Health Study Tour with Chiang Mai University (CMU)!

It was truly an incredible experience, with no two days being the same.

In week one, the mornings began with ice breakers followed by language classes. Here, we were introduced to CMU staff and students, who would accompany us throughout the study tour. In the evenings, we participated in activities that enriched our understanding of Thai culture. This entailed a traditional paper making session, where students were able to make their own notebooks and photo frames.

It also included a Buddhism seminar, where we learnt about all things Buddhism. Fun fact, there are over 40,000 temples in Thailand! Following the theory of the seminar, we visited one of these temples, the Doi Suthep temple, which was located at the highest point in Chiang Mai. This improved our practical understanding of how Buddhism interacts with Thai daily life.

Week two was filled with collaboration, where UTS and CMU students were co-designing health promotion activities for the local community, specifically aged care facilities and orphanages. These activities aimed to improve physical and mental health, and included stretching, origami and bracelet making. It also entailed a visit to a chang (elephant in Thai) camp, where I was able to feed and clean the changs.

Week three was a fun and excellent combination of theory and practise. We would participate in lectures broadly covering Public Health topics, such as Universal Health Coverage, Chiang Mai cancer burden, and environmental health, to name a few. This theory would be built on with the interactive site visits, where we visited Lampang cancer hospital, Mae Kha canal and a migrant health centre. These visits strengthened our Public Health understanding by seeing how health facilities were organised to address the problems revealed in the lectures.

The final week continued Public Health theory, and expanded practically, where students participated in an overnight rural stay, with my group going to Ontai, in Sam Kamphaeng. This stay was truly immersive and deepened my One Health understanding, through farm, reservoir, temple and hospital site visits. The formalities of the tour concluded with students presenting about their overnight stay, with reflections on how we would apply what was learnt back in Australia.

 Aside from the formalities, Chiang Mai is a busy city! While I was there, I was able to watch Muay Thai, do a cooking class and immerse myself into Chiang Mai’s culture. If you can go on a Global Short Program, I highly recommend going for it. It is truly transformative, where you gain lifelong memories and timeless skills! I would like to thank CMU and the UTS School of Public Health, especially Albie and Daniel, for their supervision and hard work surrounding the study tour. I’d also like to thank UTS Think Global and the New Colombo Plan for the inspirational experience, and I am excited to build on what I have learnt in my future studies and career.

Robert Nersisyan
Bachelor of Public Health Bachelor of Business
Faculty Led – HEALTH – Chiang Mai University Public Health Study Tour, Thailand
Global Short Programs Travel Scholarship

For more information about the UTS Global Short Program visit: www.uts.edu.au/thinkglobal