Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+)

About SSPH+

The Foundation Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+) assembles the academic public health expertise available across Swiss univer­sities (Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lausanne, Lucerne, Neuchâtel, Svizzera italiana and Zurich). SSPH+ is based on the vision that public health is a scientific and profes­sional field, shaped by a broad range of disci­plines. In a small country like Switz­erland, no single insti­tution has the critical mass needed to cover all public health relevant areas. The “virtual inter-university faculty” provides a promising base from which to strengthen public health by assembling over 150 professors in public health sciences all across Switz­erland. SSPH+ initiates and supports a range of academic activities across univer­sities that would not get support from any single university.

Vision

As the leading academic insti­tution in Switz­erland for public health and as the academic public health focal point for national and inter­na­tional partners, SSPH+ has a substantial impact on population health and policy-making through training, capacity building, research and expertise.

Mission

• Reinforce the identity of public health as an interdisciplinary and -professional field of science.
• Promote and maintain a skilled public health workforce at the local, national and international level through high quality education and training.
• Strengthen the link between research and practice and foster partnerships among the public health constituencies to identify and address current and future public health challenges and to influence research, training and policy making.
• Act as the umbrella and network of the academic partner institutions for tasks and activities for which a national coordination is necessary or where the critical mass at a single institution is lacking.

Objectives

• Strengthen visibility, recognition, coordination, quality control and standards of the public health education on all levels.
• Identify and support new developments in research and teaching and forecast future challenges in the field of public health at the national and international level.
• Facilitate mutual exchange and debate between public health actors.
• Foster the use of public health expertise among other constituencies.
• Increase visibility of and impact on public health relevant issues.
• Secure a sustainable structure and funding.