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Hala Al-Saraf Receives the Institute of International Education’s New Leaders Group Award for Mutual Understanding
Each year, the Institute of International Education (IIE) recognizes a Fulbright student whose work promotes mutual understanding between the U.S. and another country. This year, IIE selected Mailman School student and Iraqi national Hala Al-Saraf for her project “THINK,” an interactive, online, distance-learning forum for Iraqi and U.S. medical students.
THINK, which stands for “Towards Healthier Innovation and Networking Knowledge,” links students at Baghdad Medical College with resources at Columbia University, MIT, Johns Hopkins, and George Washington University. According to Hala, who will receive her MPH in Health Policy and Management this month, “The goal of THINK is to increase joint research, advance cross-cultural dialogue, and overcome the isolation of Iraqi students, many of whom have lost their professors due to the current violence.”
Said Sherry Glied, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management, “I’ve known Hala as a student in my department, and also, as a student in two of my classes. She has been a real asset to the Department and the School, bringing to the classroom both her energy and enthusiasm and her experience in the real world of global health. She undertook the Fulbright project on her own initiative, contacting and working with medical students from across the United States and using information technology to provide educational resources to Iraqi students and health professionals. The award is a real coup and testimony to her wonderful work, her past contributions, and her terrific future potential.”
IIE is a global leader in the exchange of people and ideas. An independent not-for-profit organization founded in 1919, IIE is among the world’s largest and most experienced international education and training organizations.
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