Second Annual Global Health Knowledge Hub Joint Conference to Foster Collaboration with International Partners

June 2026

September 28 to 30, guests from Stellenbosch University in South Africa will join colleagues from Northwestern University for the second annual SU/NU Global Health Knowledge Hub Conference. Founded in 2024, the SU/NU Global Health Knowledge Hub developed from a 20-year partnership between the two universities highlighting a mutual desire for continued growth in a bi-directional partnership. The conference reinforces this partnership through collaborative global health research. 

The SU/NU Global Health Knowledge Hub supports collaborative activities across education, research and community engagement. At Northwestern, the primary partners are the Robert J. Havey, MD Institute for Global Health, the Center for Innovation and Global Health Technologies, the  Office of the Vice President for International Relations and the Global Learning Office. At Stellenbosch University, the primary partners are SU International, the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. 

Attendees at the inaugural SU/NU Global Health Knowledge Hub Joint Conference at Stellenbosch University in South Africa in March 2025. This year's conference will be held in Chicago and Evanston in September.

More than 40 Northwestern faculty, staff and students traveled to South Africa to attend the inaugural conference in March 2025 at Stellenbosch University. The conference highlighted a deep commitment to partnership between the two universities. This year’s conference will welcome 40 Stellenbosch participants to Chicago. 

In addition to faculty and student participants’ attendance, members of Northwestern leadership will be in attendance to share formal remarks. Presenters include Erik Luijten, PhD, MSc,Liu-Wang Liming Professor, professor of Materials Science and Engineering and (by courtesy) Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy, and Chemistry, and provost elect; Adrian Randolph, PhD, MA, dean of the Judd A. and Marjorie Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and professor of Art History; Christopher Schuh, '01 PhD, the John G. Searle Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and dean of the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; Robert Murphy, MD, the John Philip Phair Professor of Infectious Diseases and executive director of the Robert J. Havey, MD Institute for Global Health; and Wim de Villiers , MBChB, DPhil, former rector and vice-chancellor at Stellenbosch University. 

Conference Goals 

This year’s conference supports two main goals of expanding collaboration and building connections. Meetings and presentations will strengthen and expand collaboration across five core working groups: primary care (including the Human Longevity Laboratory at the Potocsnak Longevity Institute); biomedical engineering; health professions education; infectious disease and genomics; and climate, health and environmental engineering. Poster sessions and networking events will build new connections and support emerging scholars. New interdisciplinary partnerships, student and postgraduate engagement and cross-institutional collaboration opportunities will coalesce for strengthened partnerships between the universities. 

Call for Abstracts 

The deadline for Northwestern participants to submit abstracts is Tuesday, June 30.  

Abstracts should be no more than 500 words. Submissions can be guided by the working group's themes, but the conference has an interdisciplinary approach, and submissions are invited from all fields of study. Submissions that elevate underrepresented perspectives, highlight scalable innovations and demonstrate measurable impacts in their fields are encouraged. 

Learn more and submit an abstract. 

Location 

The conference will take place at Northwestern University. Events will be held on the Chicago campus September 28 and 30 and on the Evanston campus September 29. All accepted applicants will receive more details about the presentation format, presenter expectations and poster guidelines.   

Learn more about the SU/NU Global Health Knowledge Hub. 

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