TCG CREST invites applications for a

Signature Course in

Population Health and Society

Jointly Offered by the School of Health, Environment and Sustainability Studies (SHESS) and School of Humanities & Social Sciences (SHSS).

A three-weeks interdisciplinary course exploring the landscape of historical, social, behavioural and economic forces shaping the intersection between health and community.

Course Overview

Population Health and Society is an interdisciplinary course that sees health beyond its curative imagery of doctors and patients. The course combines insights from public health, sociology, history, and economics, to explore the interrelationships between diseases, physicians, communities, health workers, patients, practices, and governance. Going beyond the lab and the clinic, it translocates health within the real-life institutions and practices through which populations experience access, equity and inclusivity that lifts them from illness.

COURSE DIRECTOR

Prof. (Dr.) Projit B. Mukharji

Dean, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, TCG CREST

Projit Bihari Mukharji is a historian of medicine and science. Currently, he is Dean of the School of Humanities & Social Sciences, TCG-CREST. Mukharji has taught in universities in India, UK, Canada, and the USA, including holding a tenured professorship at UPenn. He has been awarded the prestigious Pfizer Award and the Guggenheim Fellowship. Mukharji is the author of three monographs, three edited volumes and numerous articles in leading international journals.

Mukharji’s research privileges practices of theory in the history of medicine. He is particularly interested in mapping the impact of invisible or marginal figures, objects, and institutions, shaping medical histories.

"To reimagine healthcare, we must begin by understanding why health and healthcare have evolved in their current forms and what were the paths not taken"

INTERNATIONAL VISITING FELLOW

Dr. Swarup Sarkar

Senior Researcher; University of Gothenburg, Sweden; Ex Director / Senior Adviser WHO, UNAIDS, UNITAID, GFATM, ADB and CARE International; Ex- C G Pandit National Chair for Health Research, Indian Council of Medical Research

Dr. Swarup Sarkar is an Indian physician, epidemiologist, public health professional and diplomat known for his works in the field of Infectious Diseases and HIV/AIDS in particular. Sarkar served as the Director of Communicable Diseases of the World Health Organization, South East Asia Regional Office (WHO SEARO) and is currently an advisor to international health agencies. He also holds the C G Pandit National Chair for Health Research at the Indian Council of Medical Research.

Dr. Sarkar for long has been an advocate for raising the political commitments and allocation of resources to fight HIV/AIDS and TB in the South Asian countries. He has been instrumental for the availability of antiretroviral drugs through free-to-end-user programs.

“Public health training must evolve with our times—readiness to anticipate new challenges while learning to find ways to ensure that progress reaches everyone, especially those left behind.”

ADMINISTRATOR

Dr. Bibaswan Basu

MSc, PhD | Academic Coordinator, SHESS | Board Member & Former Chief Operating Officer, Foundation for Innovations in Health

Dr. Basu has a total of twelve (12) years of teaching experience, along with nine (9) years of experience in the development sector, focusing on Healthcare, Education and Livelihood. His core domain of work includes allied health professional (AHP) education; improving access to data-driven, evidence-based, technology-enabled, culturally congruent primary care and public health for underserved rural communities.

ADMINISTRATOR

Suparba Sil

MA, MPhil | Research Scientist, SHESS

Suparba Sil is a Research Scientist at the School of Health, Environment and Sustainability, TCG CREST. She has pursued a PhD in Social Sciences in Health from Jawaharlal Nehru University (thesis submitted, 2026). Ms. Sil also has an MPhil in Sociology from Jadavpur University and an MA in Sociology from Delhi School of Economics. Ms. Sil is the recipient of several prestigious fellowships, including the Krishna Raj Summer Travel Fellowship from the Delhi School of Economics (2014), and the Swiss Government Excellence Fellowship (2024-25).

Course Instructors

Dr. Soumit Roy

Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, IQ City Medical College and Hospital

Dr Roy is a public health professional and doctor who is interested in medical teaching and research especially in various domains of public health and preventive and social medicine. His fields of interest are Occupational and Environmental Health, Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Cancer Biology, and Biostatistics.

Dr. Dora Vargha

Professor of History and Medical Humanities,
University of Exeter and Humboldt University, Berlin

Dr. Dora Vargha is Professor of History and Medical Humanities based jointly at the University of Exeter and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin. Her work focuses on questions of global health and biomedical research in the Cold War era, using the locality of Eastern Europe as a starting point. She currently leads two research groups: Connecting Three Worlds, a Wellcome Collaborative Award based at the University of Exeter which explores socialist networks in global health history, and Socialist Medicine: An Alternative Global Health History, an ERC Starting Grant research group based at Humboldt Universität, which aims to move historical analysis beyond dichotomies of East/West and North/South in understanding the politics of scientific production and practice, challenging dominant spatial and geopolitical frameworks.

Dr. Sneha Lamba

Assistant Professor of Economics, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences,
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi

Dr. Lamba’s research lies in the fields of global health, development, and gender, with a focus on South Asia. Dr. Lamba is interested in studying individual and health system level barriers to improving health outcomes. She obtained her PhD in Health Economics from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She was also a postdoctoral fellow at the Chair of Development Economics in the Centre for Modern Indian Studies, University of Göttingen before joining IIT.

Professor (Dr.) Satadal Saha MS, FRCS (Eng)

Dean, School of Health and Sustainability Studies, TCG CREST
President, Foundation for Innovations in Health (FIH) | Former Professor, School of Medical Science & Technology, IIT Kharagpur

Dr. Saha has a cross-sectoral experience of over 40 years in the health sector spanning across hospitals, primary care, training of health human resources, translational inter-disciplinary frugal healthtech innovation, clinical informatics software development, last-mile digital healthcare and founding institutions. He has been ranked among the top 40 global changemakers in 2025 (Stanford Graduate School of Business & Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability).

Why This Course?

01. Interdisciplinary

Courses taught by accomplished faculty across history, sociology, political science, economics, public health, and medicine

02. Policy to Practice

Bridges theory and implementation, helping participants navigate complex policy frameworks and advocate for equitable outcomes

03. Real World Impact

Being at the forefront of health system transformation by engaging at the interface of health and society.

04. Translational Learning Approach

Research discussions, brainstorming and on ground data collection will help participants turn knowledge into practical healthcare solutions.

Who This Is For

If you want to work towards improving population health, and if you have a background in Public Health/Social science/Medicine, as a postdoctoral researcher, PhD student, postgraduate or undergraduate or if you are an early career professional in related areas.

Prerequisites:

Fundamental knowledge of population health, social sciences; Introductory knowledge of Sociology/Political Science/ Anthropology and Economics.
No prior specialization is required; the course is interdisciplinary

What You Will Learn

The rise of modern medicine
Power and Knowledge in Health systems
Social Determinants of Health
Health Seeking Behaviour
Medical Technologies in Practice
Governance, Rights, and Citizenship in health
Health Equity and Policy Formulation
Translating Policy into Practice
Demand for Health and Quality of Care
Economics of Externalities in Health

At a Glance

APPLICATION DEADLINE

26th October 2026

COURSE DURATION

2nd - 20th November 2026

COMMITMENT

3 weeks, 90 hours

DELIVERY

Hybrid/In-person

(Lectures, Field Immersion, Group Discussion, Assignments, hands-on policy analysis )

ELIGIBILITY

Postdoctoral Researchers/ PhDs/ Postgraduates/ Public Health Professionals/ Physicians

BATCH SIZE

25 seats

(Limited Seats)

COURSE FEE

INR 25,000

(merit-cum-means scholarships available)

CERTIFICATE

Certificate of Completion

Participants will receive a Certificate of Completion from TCG CREST (Deemed to be University under UGC Act, 1956)

APPLICATION PROCESS

Complete the Application Form by 26th October 2026
Interview for Shortlisted Candidates
Admissions Decision

The Significance of Population
Health and Society in Healthcare

01. Understanding the divided healthcare landscape

Healthcare in India is marked by juxtapositions. High-tech super-speciality hospitals sit next to miles without even a basic primary care facility.

02. Decoding health-seeking behaviour

Exploring why people choose one healthcare provider over another, so that services match how communities actually seek care.

03. Designing context-sensitive policies

Formulating health policies that respond to local realities and deliver their intended impact.

04. Advancing health as a right

Navigating complex health policy frameworks and advocating for health as a right grounded in citizenship and justice.

CAREER PROSPECTS

This course prepares professionals for leadership roles across:

Health policy, planning, and systems strengthening at national and international levels
Public health agencies, government health ministries, and regulatory bodies
Research institutions focused on health equity, health systems, and social determinants
Community health organizations and primary healthcare innovation ecosystems

Please reach out to us at [email protected] for further queries on the course

Learn more about SHESS (School of Health, Environment & Sustainability Studies)

Learn more about SHESS ( School of Humanities and Social Sciences)