€3.9 million EU funds awarded for new PhD program "Improving Quality of Care of in Europe”

25 May 2016, by Elena Granina

The Hamburg Center for Health Economics (HCHE), five European partner universities (York University, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, University of Southern Denmark, Bocconi University, Erasmus University Rotterdam) and the global medical device manufacturer St. Jude Medical Inc. have received a €3.9 million EU grant to establish a European Training Network (PhD program). The central theme of the research network will be "Improving Quality of Care in Europe”. The grant comes from the European Commission’s Marie Sklodowska Curie program, which supports transnational and interdisciplinary research under the EU research framework program, Horizon 2020.

The research results of the doctoral program aim to improve the quality and performance of European health care systems. Each targeted research field will be based on the six dimensions of health care quality as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO). The practical relevance of the research projects is ensured by the active participation of non-academic partners such as national health insurances, public health organizations as well as public and private health care providers.

From summer 2017 onwards, 15 doctoral students will start their research projects and undertake an interdisciplinary training program provided by the European partner universities. The three-year PhD program includes core courses such as epidemiology, microeconomics and experimental research design as well as courses for transferable competences and employability skills to promote time and self-management, leadership and communication skills of doctoral students. For the universities involved, the program offers the invaluable opportunity to promote young talent and to establish strategic partnerships with other research institutions.