SPARK Gorongosa Launches in Rural Mozambique
Posted on September 1st, 2024
From April to August 2024, the SPARK Gorongosa program brought together Mozambican students, teachers, and medical professionals to address the region’s unmet health challenges. Beginning in April with weekly Zoom lectures led by Dr. Peter Santa Maria, Director of SPARK Global, and featuring guest lecturers like Dr. Daria Mochly-Rosen, President and Founder of SPARK Global, and Dr. Kevin Grimes, Co-Director of SPARK at Stanford, the program provided a robust foundation in translational research and product development.
The program culminated in an intensive in-person event from August 5–12 at the Montebelo Gorongosa Lodge & Safari in Mozambique, hosted by the Gorongosa Restoration Project (GRP). This six-day gathering was designed as a collaborative environment where participants met with their assigned teams and clinical mentors to develop and refine their solutions to specific health challenges. The mentorship sessions and workshops provided hands-on guidance, enabling participants to create actionable Target Product Profiles, which they presented at the end of the event.
However, the work did not end there. Teams will continue to meet for weekly lectures and mentorship sessions for an additional three months to further develop their projects, ensuring the momentum generated at SPARK Gorongosa transforms into lasting healthcare innovations for the Gorongosa community.
Permalink: https://sparkglobal.io/spark-gorongosa-launches-to-address/