Changing from within

As in many countries of the world, universities in Italy are traditionally conservative and mainly structured around rigid hierarchies more dedicated to perpetuating their own power and privilege than commitment to producing and training innovative knowledge for societal advancement. The dissatisfaction with the limit and inefficacy of biomedical approach, of which most medical schools area champions, has given rise to a desire for change in medical education, often coming from students. Especially in the last decade, in several countries, medical students have been requesting a radical reorientation of their curricula. Global Health framework looks to be a perfect ground to simulate a participative discussion process above health, health promotion and health professional training. In the experience of the University of Bologna, the needs felt by students, teacher and researcher to widen their academic and professional horizons led to the creation of the Centre for International and Intercultural Health (CSI). In order to promote curricular changes CSI actively promotes the creation of networks at local, national and international level, involving different stakeholders. These networks allow collaboration and synergy between social actors and exchange between different experiences.