Partnership for Education of Health Professionals

Since 2022, the Department of Public Health and Centre for Online and Blended Learning (COBL) have been part of the large-scale international research and capacity development project Partnership for Education of Health Professionals (PEP).

Our part of the PEP project focuses on collaborative capacity development with partners in India and Kenya. The goal is to enhance the formal health professions education systems as a means to addressing pressing challenges such as the rising burden of cardiometabolic diseases, healthcare workforce shortages, and underserved populations.

The work is guided by three interlinked objectives:

To strengthen the capacity of PEP partners to successfully leverage digitalization to enhance educational quality and reach in India and Kenya
To strengthen the PEP partners capacity to address challenges facing health professions education in India and Kenya through an ambitious agenda of collaborative educational research
To strengthen the PEP partners capacity to address challenges at the intersection of education and clinical practice for Indian and Kenyan health professionals through an ambitious agenda of collaborative social science research

Project staff

Project management

Caroline Clemens Egeland, Project Coordinator
Helle Max Martin, Senior Education Advisor
Jane Brandt Sørensen, Associate Professor
Lasse X Jensen, Associate Professor

Project staff

Alexandra Buhl, PhD Fellow
Anastasia Piterou, Digital Education Specialist
Anne Kirkegaard, Instructional Designer
Christian Schmidt Grimes, Digital Media Producer
Dan Meyrowitsch, Professor
Ebbe Thinggaard, Clinical Associate Professor
Elina Leiviskä, Postdoctoral Fellow
Ellie Edmond Shimmin, Research Assistant
Gert K Nielsen, Graphic Designer
Gregor Schäfer, Postdoctoral Fellow
Helle Lottrup Halkjær Rhode, Learning Designer
Jonas Nilaus Vilhelmsen, Digital Content Creator
Maansi Parpiani, Postdoctoral Fellow
Micaela Fernanda Merino Henriquez, Academic Staff
Sif Sofie Vange, PhD Fellow
Sophie Richardson, Academic Staff
Suchismita Goswami, Postdoctoral Fellow
Torsten Risør, Associate Professor
Ulla Blomhøj, Educational Developer

Key achievements

PEP Phase 2 2025-2029

The PEP project has initiated a new phase of activities, such as hosting research symposiums and establishing new research groups. Additionally, activities from previous years, such as delivering webinars, and carrying out visits, have continued and strengthened. Read more in the annual report below.

Link to full annual report: PEP-UCPH Activities and Learning 2025

Key achievements from our collaborative activities during PEP Phase 1 2022-2024 include:

Over 300 faculty and support staff participated in onsite workshops on online and blended learning techniques at partner institutions in India.
Three exchange visits to UCPH with 20 staff from AIIMS, CMC, and PHFI.
One Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on CMD prevention, management, and care for health professionals jointly developed by CMC and UCPH, ready for launch in November 2024.
Two video-based online learning resources (An introduction to HPE research and Innovative approaches to OBL) targeting faculty and teaching-learning specialists at HPE institutions in LMICs.
Nine online seminars on educational research and online and blended learning with almost 700 participants (and to be continued).
Six health professions education research mentorships established between Indian staff and experienced international researchers.

Publications

Kaur, S., Kaur, R., Jacob, T., Malhotra, N., Jensen, L. X., Ramachandran, R., & Roy, A. (2026). Developing critical appraisal skills among undergraduate students by early research exposure: An interventional study. BMC Medical Education, 26(1), 655. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-026-09026-9
Jensen, L. X., Bearman, M., Boud, D., & Konradsen, F. (2025). Feedback encounters in doctoral supervision: The role of generative AI chatbots. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 0(0), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2025.2478155
Jensen, L. X., Buhl, A., Hussain, S., Karan, A., Konradsen, F., & Bearman, M. (2023). Digital education for health professionals in India: A scoping review of the research. BMC Medical Education, 23(1), 561. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04552-2
Jensen, L. X., Buhl, A., Sharma, A., & Bearman, M. (2024). Generative AI and higher education: A review of claims from the first months of ChatGPT. Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-024-01265-3
Karan, A., Hussain, S., Jensen, L. X., Buhl, A., Bearman, M., & Zodpey, S. (2024). Non-communicable diseases, digital education and considerations for the Indian context – a scoping review. BMC Public Health, 24(1), 1280. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18765-7
Vange, S. S., Vraa-Jensen, M., Borre Andersen, E., Jensen, L. X., Matiang’i, M., Wao, H., … Sørensen, J. B. (2026). Reconfiguring retention: a qualitative exploration of the lived experiences of female nurses in an arid rural setting in Turkana County, Kenya. Global Health Action, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2026.2675808