In September, the first 20 students started our Master of Science in Tropical Medicine (MTM) programme. With four continents represented and an average age of 33, this new crop of students is expected to graduate by August 2021. Their thesis will be in the format of a manuscript ready for submission. The theses will cover a wide range of topics from high-tech lab research on tropical pathogens to strategies for improving diagnostics, and patients’ management and care in tropical settings.

The new programme responds to the students’ requests for more specialisation in the biomedical and clinical sciences research fields. The programme also responds to developments within the professional world, such as the need to increase the number of specialised professionals in tropical medicine, the availability of research technologies in low-resource environments and the occurrence of tropical diseases in regions not defined as tropical.