Graduate School of health and Medical Sciences

Health Science: Nature, Spirituality and Clinical Care
Provider: Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Activity no.: 3181-25-00-00	There are 11 available seats
	Enrollment deadline: 15/06/2025

Date and time	22.09.2025, at: 09:00 - 26.09.2025, at: 16:00
Regular seats	15
Course fee	13,680.00 kr.
Lecturers	Per Sangild Tobias Anker Stripp
ECTS credits	5.00

Contact person	Malene Skovsted Cilieborg E-mail address: macilie@sund.ku.dk

Enrolment Handling/Course Organiser	PhD administration E-mail address: phdkursus@sund.ku.dk

Aim and content This course is free of charge for PhD students at Danish universities (except Copenhagen Business School), and for PhD Students from NorDoc member faculties. All other participants must pay the course fee. Anyone can apply for the course, but if you are not a PhD student at a Danish university, you will be placed on the waiting list until enrollment deadline. This also applies to PhD students from NorDoc member faculties. After the enrollment deadline, available seats will be allocated to applicants on the waiting list. Learning objectives A student who has met the objectives of the course will be able to: 1. Navigate across academic disciplines and research methodologies when working in human health sciences. 2. Understand how health effects of human spirituality and relationships to nature can be analysed, quantified, and potentially applied to clinical care. 3. Understand the philosophical, cultural, and historical roots of health science. 4. Communicate interdisciplinary ideas about health science and care to academic peers based on own (ph.d.) project. Content In 1946, WHO defined health as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not only the absence of disease’. Recently, spirituality has been acknowledged as an additional 4th dimension of human health. Spirituality can be seen as an umbrella term encompassing secular (existential) or transcendental (religious) orientations. Nature is similarly multifaceted, but here, we will focus on more-than-human nature as a relevant source of meaning-making and therapeutic intervention, being aware that nature and culture are highly entangled in today's world. Clinical care is related to treating patients in the healthcare system, which, in light of novel scientific evidence, might draw essential inspiration from both spirituality and nature to improve complex health outcomes. As such, human health science needs attention to numerous scientific methodologies when aiming to provide new knowledge. Holistic health science and clinical care, taking the whole human being into account, depend on navigating multiple research domains, across natural, social, and humanistic sciences. This course offers novel and essential inspiration regardless of how and where you work on health during your ph.d. studies (or as part of other research projects). This interdisciplinary ph.d. course (with lecturers from biology, physics, medicine, public health, psychology, anthropology, philosophy, and theology) offers attendees a unique blend of theoretical knowledge and practical experience. Students will explore how spiritual practices and nature engagement may influence physical, mental, social, and spiritual health. The course aims to equip participants with a holistic view of human health, expanding and going beyond biomechanistic or molecular understandings of human health. We foster interdisciplinary dialogue among participants and teachers to produce new scientific knowledge and integrative approaches to help expand healthcare practices for the future. The course challenges inherent presumptions about what we know and believe regarding human health. Examples are given from pediatrics, oncology, and geriatrics, but the principles apply across all healthcare fields. Link to a video of the course and participant experiences at the 2024 course Participants We welcome and encourage ph.d. students from all scientific fields and at all stages of their projects. Relevance to graduate programs The course is relevant to ph.d. students from the following graduate programs at the Graduate School of Health and Medical Sciences, UCPH: - All graduate programmes Language English Form We create a unique learning environment for the 5-day (in-presence) course week facilitated by lectures, group work, exercises, discussions, combined with thought-provoking and inspiring field trips to important study sites that deepen our understanding of health science and care today. Meeting facilities in historical hospital buildings in central Copenhagen give the participants a unique atmosphere of some roots of health science and care. Delicious breakfast/lunch buffet and coffee/tea with snacks/cake are included on each day. Following the 5-day course week, participants will have approximately one month to write a short course report demonstrating their learnings in relation to their own field of study (written dissemination). The report could form the basis for a published perspective paper, with/without support from course lecturer(s). On the final course day, participants present their reports (and oppose to each other) at an online meeting (oral dissemination). Course director Per Torp Sangild, Professor, Comparative Pediatrics, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, and Centre for Science and Faith, Faculty of Theology, University of Copenhagen (UCPH), pts@sund.ku.dk Co-director Tobias Anker Stripp, post doc, Centre for Science and Faith, Faculty of Theology and Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen (UCPH), tas@teol.ku.dk Teachers (alphabetically, tentative lecturers and topics) • BD: Benjamin Doolittle, Prof. Medicine (Pediatrics), MSc Divinity, Yale School of Medicine & Yale Divinity School, USA: The history and philosophy of medicine • CP: Christina Prinds, Ass. Professor, ph.d., Dept. Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark (SDU, Gynaecology and Obstetrics): Meaning and spirituality in pregnancy, birth and newborn care • EBN: Emil Børty Nielsen, ph.d., postdoc, Centre for Science and Faith, UCPH: Epistemology, faith and animal relationships • FC: Fie Cetti, House of Awakening, ayurvedic health practitioner • GG: Gorm Greisen, Former Prof., Neonatology, Rigshospitalet, UCPH: Science and ethics at birth • JPUF: Johan Peter Uldall Fynbo, Prof. ph.d., Astrophysics, UCPH: Nature contemplation using physics, stars and galaxies • JGR: Jesper Grud Rasmussen, palliative nursing, Diakonissestiftelsen (DKS), Copenhagen • KC: Kasper Cetti, House of Awakening, ayurvedic health practitioner • KP: Kim Petersen, Rector, Education Centre, Diakonissestiftelsen (DKS): Healthcare Philosophy at DKS • KTY: Karin Tybjerg, Ass. Prof., ph.d., Dept. Publ. Health, UCPH: History and philosophy of medicine • NHG: Niels Henrik Gregersen, Prof. Theology, ph.d., UCPH: Science and religion interactions, naturalism and nature relationships • PHI: Pui Him Ip, Director of Tutorial Programs, Faraday Inst. Science and Religion/Centre for Science and Faith, ph.d., UCPH: Theology of healthcare • PTS: Per Sangild, Prof. DMSc, ph.d., Comparative Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, UCPH: Science-spirituality across disciplines • SKB: Søren Kjær Bruun, ph.d., chaplain, Righospitalet, Copenhagen: Hospital/end of life spiritual care • TAS: Tobias Stripp, postdoc, ph.d., MD, Centre for Science and Faith, UCPH: Health, faith and spirituality • VBC: Vibeke Brix Christensen, registrar, Pediatrics, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen: Clinical care, ethics and humanitarian medical aid Dates 5-day course week: 22/9-2025 – 26/9-2025 (Optional participation at course-relevant international symposium: 24/10-2025) Online presentation of course reports: 4/11-2025 Course location Diakonissestiftelsen, Peter Bangs Vej 5B, 2000 Frederiksberg Excursion locations in Copenhagen (specific programs and info will follow for each site): 1) Diakonissestiftelsen, Peter Bangsvej 5B 2) Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9 3) Medicinsk Museion, Fredericiagade 18 4) House of Awakening (Ayurvedic health centre), Bülowsvej 50a Registration Before 15/6-2025 Expected frequency Once per year Seats to ph.d. students from other Danish universities will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and according to the applicable rules. Applications from other participants will be considered after the last day of enrolment. Note: All applicants are asked to submit invoice details in case of no-show, late cancellation or obligation to pay the course fee (typically non-PhD students). If you are a PhD student, your participation in the course must be in agreement with your principal supervisor.

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