Global exchange: UCT research fellow Mark Engel pictured here with his son, Hayden, in Ottawa. Engel left for Canada in November last year and will spend six months there before returning to South Africa to register for a PhD in UCT's Primary Health Care Directorate.

A collaborative project between UCT and the University of Ottawa, Canada, will facilitate the direct participation of UCT in the global exchange of knowledge and skills.

As part of a joint research agreement between the Institute of Population Health at Ottawa and UCT's Primary Health Care Directorate, researchers and students will work together on areas of common interest. These areas include knowledge translation (including interventions tailored for clinicians, policy makers, NGOs and the general public) and health equity (evaluating interventions aimed at improving the health of the disadvantaged and promoting adherence to therapies for diseases affecting the disadvantaged).

"Through the placements at the University of Ottawa, our staff and students will be able to acquire skills, access funding and participate in scholarly activities in the area of health and development," said Chair of Primary Health Care, Professor Jimmy Volmink. "In addition, those from Ottawa who visit UCT will gain experience of developing country health issues and challenges and participate in collaborative research."

Mark Engel, a research fellow at the directorate, is the first recipient of the exchange programme.

In an e-mail from Ottawa, Engel had this to say of his experience so far: "With its large resource of talented researchers and their varied interests, the institute has provided me with a fresh and renewed approach to many subjects. I have also been able to venture into new areas by attending courses within the postgraduate epidemiology programme."