Miguel Pugliese-Garcia
Project: Exploring the influence of context on complex, health system strengthening interventions: a mixed methods study of Performance-based financing
What were you doing before you joined the MRC DTP scheme?
I was working as a research fellow at the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ).
Why did you choose your primary institution (LSHTM or SGUL)?
I was interested by the significant presence and expertise of LSHTM in my fields of interest and several friends and colleagues recommended highlighted their good experiences studying and researching here.
What do you enjoy most about your day-to-day work and the people you work with?
The people studying and working in LSHTM. You get to meet a lot of people who are fun, helpful and very interesting!
What do you value most about the MRC DTP studentship?
The strong focus it has on the development of their candidates, the studentship goes the extra mile to ensure they have access to great training and experience opportunities.
What additional training have you attended with MRC DTP money?
I have attended trainings and courses on evaluation, qualitative and quantitative methods and GIS. I also used flexible funding money for my placement with UNICEF in Cambodia.
Where did you go on your placement? What did you do?
I did my placement at the evaluation section of UNICEF in Cambodia. My work there involved coordinating and providing technical support to several evaluations conducted by UNICEF in Cambodia and the East Asia Pacific region. I also supported the dissemination and uptake of evaluation results from Cambodia’s country office across different stakeholders.
Do you have any tips for future MRC DTP scholarship applicants?
Contact your future supervisors in advance to be able to speak about PhD topic and ideas as much as possible. Also, don’t hesitate to also contact other experts in the area of interest that you believe could have helpful insights and may be helpful future collaborators in your advisory committee. This will help you having clearer ideas for your application and first steps in the PhD.