The U21 Health Sciences Group has an international body of students who represent their respective U21 HSG member universities to work on topics related to the SDGs. We collaborate to create events both local and international with the aim of raising awareness of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. For example, each year we collaborate to organise the SDG Awareness Week within our respective universities. Our student team is multidisciplinary and involves members from across all year groups.
Please find details of the previous student team below:
Idah Mondlane, University of Johannesburg
Idah Mondlane is a 3rd year nursing student from the University of Johannesburg. Idah matriculated with an admission to a bachelor's degree coupled with 4 distinctions with one of them being Geography which consequently piqued her interest for global awareness matters. She has a great passion for learning and exploring new adventures of learning. Idah is very versatile and flexible to acquiring knowledge henceforth she has been with the South African Defence Force (SANDF) under the South African Air Force Young Falcons Awareness programme for 2 years where she completed her training. Idah is very ardent about giving back to the community, in that regard she has been a squad leader for an organization called 100kidstovarsity where she ensured that students from disadvantaged communities can access tertiary education. Her vast love for paediatrics led her into being part of the reach for a dream foundation which cares for children with life threatening illnesses. Amidst other skills, she is a writer and aspires to be a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner to curb the mortality rate of neonates in our country, subsequently, globally.
Saivarsha Ganesan, University of Birmingham
Saivarsha is a 2nd year medical student at the University of Birmingham. She did her schooling in India and has always been passionate in becoming a surgeon. She is a sports enthusiast and loves having constructive debates on major issues. She decided to take a gap year before joining university, during which she volunteered at the Vidyasagar school for children with disabilities, in Chennai. She taught music and helped organise the annual sports day. She also has volunteered in various organisations in providing basic resources for underprivileged people and worked as a scribe. She has shadowed healthcare professionals in various specialties like intensive care, gynaecology and neurosurgery, which piqued her interest in healthcare. In 2018, She was the lead of an initiative called "yours imperfectionally" in high school which dealt with gender inequalities and body shaming. The following year, the same group conducted surveys on waste management in the neighbourhood and came up with innovative ideas on how to segregate and reuse waste in a sustainable manner. She is interested in addressing and solving inequalities in accessing healthcare, especially for women of colour, underprivileged people, and the LGBTQ+ community. She wishes to bring about a change within the NHS and in India in the future, working as a neurosurgeon.
Christy Ng, University of Birmingham
Christy is currently studying Dental Surgery at the University of Birmingham. As a Co-Chair of the UoB Sustainable Development Goals Group alongside Sasha, Christy looks forward to promoting the awareness of the UN SDGs to other individuals on a wider scale. Christy aims to help increase the understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially amongst other healthcare students, through events such as the Sustainability Awareness Week. With a particular interest in understanding ways to improve the environmental impacts of Dentistry, she hopes to continue learning and supporting this goal.