International Health Links Funding Scheme: The British Council and international health charity THET have just launched a new initiative to strengthen Links between health institutions in the UK and target developing countries. The International Health Links Funding Scheme (IHLFS) is a three-year DFID funded programme supporting Link activities that encourage the training of health staff and build the capacity of health systems in developing countries. Find out more on the IHLFS website or contact the team at HealthLinks@britishcouncil.org

Just Published...Higher Education and International Capacity Building-Twenty Five Years of Higher Education Links: For the past 25 years UK Higher Education institutions have forged research and teaching partnerships with their counterparts overseas. Many of these links were funded by the British Government and managed by the British Council's Higher Education Links (HEL) Scheme. This book takes an informed and critical look at issues and trends in global higher education over the past twenty five years with an in-depth and often personal account of how these links were managed and led. Ten experts representing a variety of disciplines from areas such as conserving the natural environment, the promotion of human rights, and education and gender present an 'insider's'view of their link, reflecting upon the successes and challenges in promoting research, developing institutional capacity at home and abroad, and the lessons they have learned. This book will be of particular interest to those working in higher education and international development generally; as well as students, researchers and professionals engaged in bilateral and multi-lateral development assistance programmes ( ISBN 978-1-873927-22-9) To order a copy please go to www.symposium-books.co.uk

Going Global 4 international education conference will be held in London on 24 - 26 March 2010. Sign up to the newsletter and find out more about the conference on the GG4 website.

PMI2 Connect has now opened bidding for Collaborative Programme Delivery for Higher Education finding opportunities. Find out more about the programme on the PMI2 website.

Building our Common Future: DFID UK’s new White Paper on International Development published in July 2009 the fourth in the series ‘Eliminating World Poverty’.To read or download the paper please visit DFID's website.

Visit to Infectious Disease Risk Reduction Project at the University of Northumbria: Dr Andrew Collins and his colleagues at the Disaster and Development Centre (DDC) within the School of Applied Sciences at the University of Northumbria are working on a DelPHE project with partners based in Mozambique and Bangladesh. The project’s focus is on progressing knowledge and understanding of infectious disease reduction with central Mozambique as its location for research.

Andrew met with Stephen Dunnett, Project Delivery Manager from the British Council’s UK DelPHE team, to give an update on the project’s progress to date. Three medical students from the Universidade Catolica de Mocambique in Beira, the country’s second city, have spent time at the International Centre for Health and Population Research in Bangladesh studying ecological aspects of the subject. Meanwhile two other Mozambican students have visited the University of Northumbria to explore the social and management elements. The students will become the staff of the future at the Mozambican institution so these exchange visits are crucial to capacity building.

In addition, an Infectious Disease Risk Reduction module has been introduced in Mozambique which has been taught by local staff to improve the capacity of students studying there. The project is also working closely with the local community in Mozambique helping them to identify infectious disease reduction risks for themselves and creating strong links between the local community and the university in Beira.

Andrew describes the project which has built on previous collaborations with the Bangladeshi partner as “happy and enthusiastic” with a very good team spirit. His advice to others thinking of undertaking DelPHE projects is to identify an existing development activity and build upon its existing strengths – so contributing as part of a longer process of development work throughout the world.