Harvard College
Global Health and Leadership Conference
FAQs
What is Harvard College VISION: Global Health Society?
Harvard College VISION: Global Health Society is an officially recognized student organization at Harvard College founded in 2014 by Paul Lewis, Harvard Class of 2018. It is run by Harvard Global Health Institute and Harvard College VISION: Global Health Society.Our mission is to tackle global health issues especially optical needs by raising awareness, alleviating preventable blindness, and educating youth. Founded in 2017 by Harvard alumnus Paul Lewis, the Global Health and Leadership Conference at Harvard promotes student engagement with global health topics by bringing together Harvard faculty, students, and guests to educate and mentor high school students. The conference encourages students to tackle issues in their local community by conducting evidence-based, cost-effective interventions that are impactful, sustainable, and reproducible initiatives. The conference hopes to help students make a difference and grow as civically minded leaders for the future.
Who attends the Global Health & Leadership Conference?
- High School Students
- Application not open yet for 2020. Feel free to contact info@harvardcollegevision.org
- College Students
- Contact info@harvardcollegevision.org
- Harvard Affiliates
- Free for Harvard ID holders
What time does the conference begin and end?
The conference is from 9:00am to 5pm on both Saturday and Sunday. On-site conference check-in and registration begins at 8:00am on Saturday and Sunday.
What should I wear?
Can I Waive the Conference Fee?
Yes, there is an option within the application to request a waver. Waiving the conference fee does not impact your chance of acceptance.
I am not from the U.S. How can I obtain a Visa?
- First, determine if you qualify under the Visa Waiver Program, which allows citizens of some countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business, for 90 days or less, without obtaining a visa. Such travelers would need to apply for and receive a valid Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) prior to travel. You may read about the Visa Waiver Program and the qualifying countries.
- If you do not qualify for the Visa Waiver Program and need to obtain a visa, you may learn about visa procedures here, including information about the visitor visa and an associated DS-160 online nonimmigrant visa applciation.
- Locate your nearest U.S. Embassy or consulate.
- Complete the appropriate electronic visa application that you can print and bring to your visa interview.
How do I give a presentation?
Project Presentations are a special opportunity to share your hard work with your peers. You can receive a Harvard student as a project mentor. Students conducting projects will write a report due March 1st that will look similar to the example below:.
In preparing to create this report and implement their project, students will have to think about the following items:
- Research your global health topic
- Design what an intervention looks like in this topic
- Plan out exactly how you are going to have this intervention
- Implement the project
- Evaluate the successes of the project.
Here are the general guidelines for the presentation:
- Self introduction
- Your topic
- Research behind it (use information from your research)
- How you designed it (use information from your design)
- What was your plan (use information from your plan)
- How did implementation go (use information from your implementation)
- What were the outcomes (use information from your evaluation)
- Anything else you would like to include such as pictures, a video, or time for questions
Is the registration fee refundable?
The conference registration fee is not refundable or transferable, as per the published policy on the conference application. Before submitting their registration, registrants are required to confirm their understanding that the registration is not refundable or transferable. Submission of the registration fee notifies VISION that the registrant plans to attend the conference, and we plan for the comprehensive details associated with their attendance. Via the transaction, VISION makes an agreement with the attendee to coordinate all of the complex logistics that provide them with the opportunity to attend a well-organized, quality conference, including all of their necessary materials and resources: quality conference venues, organized conference sessions with renowned speakers, an electronic conference pass and conference badge, Conference Program Book, and much more. The preparation and provision of these materials and resources are available only to those who register to attend the conference.
It is also important to note that any conference that allows refunds builds in a significant extra administrative fee into every conference ticket. Those conferences also include an additional substantial administrative/processing fee for a refund. The Global Health & Leadership Conference keeps registration rates as low as possible, and the entire Global Health & Leadership Conference registration fee is lower than the refund/cancellation fees of most other conferences.
Can a family member accompany me?
A conference badge is required to enter all conference venues. If you would like someone to accompany you to any conference sessions, they first need to register and pay the associated registration fee. Family members of the high school student can attend for $20 per person.
Is there anything after the conference?
Yes. Students can continue to their community projects or start a VISION chapter.
Have past attendees been accepted to Harvard College?
Yes. Several of our past attendees are current Harvard students (and some even are the volunteers leading it!). We've also had past attendees get into other prestigious institutions like Yale, Stanford, MIT, Brown, Johns Hopkins, Cornell, etc. Such students have said that our program significantly contributed to their applications.
Do you provide lodging?
No. We are willing to help connect to families of students accepted to the conference who live in the Greater Boston Area. We also usually receive a discount at hotels for the weekend.
Conference Highlights
Harvard Global Health Institute
The Harvard Global Health Institute is an invaluable sponsor of the conference.
Speakers
Harvard's campus
Enjoy a weekend on Harvard's beautiful campus. See famous sites including the John Harvard Statue, Widener Library, and the Charles River.
Community Projects
Case Study Competition
Students work as a team to write a report evaluating a global health issue and give a presentation at the conference.
Narrative Presentations
A new addition for 2021 that expands to the medical humanities to understand and share the stories of others in a medical context. Students can compete in 2 categories: Writing and Video.
Research Projects
A new addition for 2021 that extends to the data aspect of global health to expand on our understanding of health in different contexts. Students can compete in 2 categories: Comparative Analysis and Literature Review.
Conference Exam
A new addition for 2021 that extends to the academic aspect of global heatlh. Available for grades 9, 10,& 11 students.
Network
Make lasting friendships and connections: meet diverse students from around the world, collaborate with others, and have a Harvard student mentor for your community project.
Testimonials
Global Health and Leadership Conference:
Conduct Projects, Give Presentations, Impact Communities, and Make Friends around the World!
Become a Vision Global Health Scholar
Students interested in continuing the work developed in the Global Health and Leadership Conference may apply to be a Vision Global Health Scholar. Selected Fellows work closely with the Vision team to improve on annual programming. They improve the original project design, receive special training in the topic of interest, collect data, discuss findings, and prepare a presentation for the annual Global Health and Leadership Conference hosted at Columbia, Harvard, and Johns Hopkins.
Donate to Support our Program