Collaborating and Partnering with Other Student Groups

Partnering and collaborating with other university student groups is an important step in gathering support, presence, and action for educational reform. The more endorsements and backing you have, the stronger your case will be for implementing this curriculum. Below are some resources for finding the right groups to partner with and some tips and strategies for how best to collaborate with your partners.

Tips for Collaboration

• Seek out similar student groups or clubs that have missions or educational goals common to PHR. Find the contact information of these groups on your university website.
• Contact your student government to see if they would like to get involved or if they can give you any support.
• Brainstorm and work with the other groups to develop a common proposal and strategy for getting the education reforms implemented.
• Develop a communications plan in order to ensure everyone’s voice gets heard and all members involved feel comfortable with the work being planned and put forward.
• Assign clear roles so everyone is on the same page and understands what is expected of them.
• Keep communication open among everyone as much as possible in order to minimize misunderstandings.
• PHR’s Guide for Collaborating With Other Groups [1] provides more detail on effective strategies and tips for developing and maintaining collaborations.

Examples of Student Groups to Partner With

• American Medical Association (AMA)
• American Medical School Association (AMSA)
• American Medical Women’s Association
• Amnesty International chapters involved in Human Rights Education
• Physicians for Social Responsibility
• Other groups in the University Coalitions for Global Health [2]

Some Relevant Groups

1. Human Rights/Social Justice Advocacy
2. Global Health/Global Awareness
3. Community Development/ Community Health
4. Women’s Rights
5. Humanitarian Action/ International Development
6. HIV/AIDS, or other prominent disease-based groups
7. Specializations
8. Ethics
9. Demographic-Specific groups (ethnicities, cultures, LGBT, etc.)
10. Student Government/Student Council