The MLW Malaria Group leadership skills workshop conducted in December 2016 was featured in the College of Medicine Research Support Center October 2016 – January 2017 newsletter. This shows the collaboration and good relationship between the two institutions and also the significance of the workshop.

The leadership skills workshop is a 5-day seminar with follow-up sessions conducted every 4 months. Follow-up sessions include a discussion on a leadership skill of choice and each participant is encouraged to come up with a leadership development plan for the next 4 months. Specifically, follow-up sessions aim at bringing participants together to share and learn from each other’s life experiences and also to assess and track progress made on participants’ development plans.

The workshops, which attract participants from MLW, Malaria Alert Centre, College of Medicine, The Polytechnic and Kamuzu College of Nursing, are facilitated by Professor Rob Moodie, Masters of Public Health Coordinator at the College of Medicine, who has developed and facilitated these workshops over the last eight years at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Past workshops have also attracted guest speakers, usually individuals in leading positions in society, who share their life stories and how they have risen to success.

Apart from equipping the MLW Malaria Group members with leadership skills, the workshops have also encouraged networking between members from the participating institutions and have generated innovative ideas, including MLW Malaria Group interns’ participation in WHO’s 2017 Health Policy and Systems Research Essay Competition.