Global Initiative Supports the First Oxford Summer Academy for the Social Science of Health Innovation
In August 2025, Global Initiative was proud to support the first Oxford Summer Academy for the Social Science of Health Innovation, hosted at St Hilda’s College, University of Oxford. The Academy, organised by the MSc Translational Health Sciences programme team, brought together researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and innovators to explore how social science can shape the future of health innovation.
3 Sept 2025
3 Sept 2025
From Behaviour Change Theory to Digital Practice
Global Initiative contributed directly on Day 1, where we joined Dr Anne Ferrey and Dr Rachna Begh for a hands-on workshop on creating digital interventions. Attempting to condense weeks of knowledge-sharing into just two hours was no easy task, but it made for a lively and thought-provoking session.
Anne led attendees through the core principles of interventions and behaviour change techniques before introduced the workshop theme: creating a digital intervention to support someone with insomnia. The workshop provided 4 possible examples, with each persona having its own barriers, facilitators, triggers, and schedules, meaning that any digital intervention would need to be carefully designed to feel personal and relevant.
Moving quickly into practice, following a record-breaking brief training session on the platform, participants began using Trial Deck, our clinical trial management system and no-code digital intervention builder. As groups translated their ideas into prototypes, they were challenged to think not only about content, but also about the realities of delivery. What information should be shown to a user, and what should be captured back, such as a sleep diary? Would reminders work best as emails or text messages? Should content be experienced in order, or left open to explore? And how could the system provide feedback that reinforced behaviour change?
While we were only able to scratch the surface, these questions sparked curiosity, creativity, and a new appreciation for what it takes to bring digital health tools to life. Participants left not just with practical experience, but with a more hands-on way of thinking about innovation itself.
Looking ahead
The Summer Academy has been hailed as a great success, already receiving fantastic feedback from attendees. We hope it inspires more events like it in the future, creating opportunities for collaboration and experimentation that give potential innovators the knowledge, tools, and inspiration to make a lasting impact on global healthcare.
For Global Initiative, it was a privilege to be part of this first edition. We are proud to support initiatives that blend theory and practice, and to contribute tools like Trial Deck that help turn vision into reality.
For more information, see the full write up here:
https://www.phc.ox.ac.uk/news/oxford-hosts-first-summer-academy-for-the-social-science-of-health-innovation-led-by-msc-translational-health-sciences-programme-team
From Behaviour Change Theory to Digital Practice
Global Initiative contributed directly on Day 1, where we joined Dr Anne Ferrey and Dr Rachna Begh for a hands-on workshop on creating digital interventions. Attempting to condense weeks of knowledge-sharing into just two hours was no easy task, but it made for a lively and thought-provoking session.
Anne led attendees through the core principles of interventions and behaviour change techniques before introduced the workshop theme: creating a digital intervention to support someone with insomnia. The workshop provided 4 possible examples, with each persona having its own barriers, facilitators, triggers, and schedules, meaning that any digital intervention would need to be carefully designed to feel personal and relevant.
Moving quickly into practice, following a record-breaking brief training session on the platform, participants began using Trial Deck, our clinical trial management system and no-code digital intervention builder. As groups translated their ideas into prototypes, they were challenged to think not only about content, but also about the realities of delivery. What information should be shown to a user, and what should be captured back, such as a sleep diary? Would reminders work best as emails or text messages? Should content be experienced in order, or left open to explore? And how could the system provide feedback that reinforced behaviour change?
While we were only able to scratch the surface, these questions sparked curiosity, creativity, and a new appreciation for what it takes to bring digital health tools to life. Participants left not just with practical experience, but with a more hands-on way of thinking about innovation itself.
Looking ahead
The Summer Academy has been hailed as a great success, already receiving fantastic feedback from attendees. We hope it inspires more events like it in the future, creating opportunities for collaboration and experimentation that give potential innovators the knowledge, tools, and inspiration to make a lasting impact on global healthcare.
For Global Initiative, it was a privilege to be part of this first edition. We are proud to support initiatives that blend theory and practice, and to contribute tools like Trial Deck that help turn vision into reality.
For more information, see the full write up here:
https://www.phc.ox.ac.uk/news/oxford-hosts-first-summer-academy-for-the-social-science-of-health-innovation-led-by-msc-translational-health-sciences-programme-team
From Behaviour Change Theory to Digital Practice
Global Initiative contributed directly on Day 1, where we joined Dr Anne Ferrey and Dr Rachna Begh for a hands-on workshop on creating digital interventions. Attempting to condense weeks of knowledge-sharing into just two hours was no easy task, but it made for a lively and thought-provoking session.
Anne led attendees through the core principles of interventions and behaviour change techniques before introduced the workshop theme: creating a digital intervention to support someone with insomnia. The workshop provided 4 possible examples, with each persona having its own barriers, facilitators, triggers, and schedules, meaning that any digital intervention would need to be carefully designed to feel personal and relevant.
Moving quickly into practice, following a record-breaking brief training session on the platform, participants began using Trial Deck, our clinical trial management system and no-code digital intervention builder. As groups translated their ideas into prototypes, they were challenged to think not only about content, but also about the realities of delivery. What information should be shown to a user, and what should be captured back, such as a sleep diary? Would reminders work best as emails or text messages? Should content be experienced in order, or left open to explore? And how could the system provide feedback that reinforced behaviour change?
While we were only able to scratch the surface, these questions sparked curiosity, creativity, and a new appreciation for what it takes to bring digital health tools to life. Participants left not just with practical experience, but with a more hands-on way of thinking about innovation itself.
Looking ahead
The Summer Academy has been hailed as a great success, already receiving fantastic feedback from attendees. We hope it inspires more events like it in the future, creating opportunities for collaboration and experimentation that give potential innovators the knowledge, tools, and inspiration to make a lasting impact on global healthcare.
For Global Initiative, it was a privilege to be part of this first edition. We are proud to support initiatives that blend theory and practice, and to contribute tools like Trial Deck that help turn vision into reality.
For more information, see the full write up here:
https://www.phc.ox.ac.uk/news/oxford-hosts-first-summer-academy-for-the-social-science-of-health-innovation-led-by-msc-translational-health-sciences-programme-team
