What is the annual PgDip summer school?
The Postgraduate Diploma in HIV/Aids Management (PgDip) is our flagship programme and the first academic programme we presented in 2001 following the centre’s establishment. Each year, the PgDip starts with the summer school hosted in Stellenbosch, where staff, lecturers and guest speakers share information and insights about the content covered during the programme modules and related topics. This year’s summer school took place from 2 to 6 February, with students from across Africa and beyond coming together to start their academic PgDip journey. The theme was “Inclusive health management in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) African context”, reflecting the global polycrisis. This summer school blog series provides an overview of the various sessions.
Interested in learning more about the PgDip?
- Find out more about the programme here.
- If you would like to know more about studying with us, see our study FAQs page.
The theme of this year’s summer school was “Inclusive health management in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) African context”. This is in acknowledgement of the global polycrisis and the need for an integrated approach to health management that considers the various aspects that intersect with health, including social, economic, ecological, commercial, structural and systemic factors. The need for this multidisciplinary approach is also the reason behind the Africa Centre’s name change in early 2025 to consolidate our transition to integrating issues of HIV/Aids management with other pertinent aspects of health. Several summer school sessions were therefore dedicated to exploring the different facets of inclusive health.
The world is facing multiple, intersecting crises that affect every aspect of humanity, including health:
- HIV/Aids support funding cuts by international donors in 2025 have had the biggest direct impact on health via the abrupt end to critical services – and the implications will continue for a long time to come. Many of the Africa Centre’s current and potential students lost their jobs and livelihoods and were forced to discontinue their studies.
- Climate change is affecting health both directly and indirectly via, for example, an increase in infectious diseases, poor air quality leading to respiratory issues, malnutrition and famine, water scarcity and mental health problems caused by forced migration and displacement.
- Increasing corruption and power realignment are sabotaging efficient and critical education and health services.
- Ongoing conflicts and wars affect the health and wellness of the most vulnerable populations like children and women the most through famine, lack of access to health services and sexual exploitation, to name a few.
It is against this background that the PgDip students started their journey in gaining the insights and skills that support effective HIV/Aids management. Guest speakers from various fields in health management shared their expertise on topics related to inclusive health.
More about the 2026 summer school:
- An integrated, inclusive approach to health management is more crucial than ever
- Academic support lays the foundation for success
- The summer school in pictures
- PgDip summer schoolers share their views (scroll down to the end of the page)