THE TABLE | Global Wellbeing Fellowship
Want to become a leader in global health and wellbeing?
What is the table ?
The Table is a six-week fellowship for aspiring global health and wellbeing leaders.
We bring together a small group of ambitious people from across medicine, healthcare, policy, research, law, social science and other disciplines.
Through short readings, small-group discussions, practical exercises and conversations with people working across the field, fellows will develop skills in critical thinking, evidence evaluation, systems thinking, ethical reasoning and leadership.
Although, The Table is about more than what happens in the room.
We believe that some of the most important ingredients for leadership are relationships, perspective and formation. The fellowship is designed to create a community of people who can challenge one another, learn from one another and eventually build alongside one another.
The goal is for fellows to leave with clearer thinking, stronger relationships, greater career direction and concrete opportunities to take their next step.
how does it work?
The Table is a six-week programme built around a small cohort and regular in-person gatherings.
Each week combines:
Short readings
Engage with ideas from global health, economics, philosophy, policy, medicine and beyond.
Small-group discussion
Explore difficult questions with people from different academic and professional backgrounds.
Practical application
Move from abstract ideas to real decisions, problems and opportunities in global health.
Community
Build relationships with a cohort of people who are serious about improving global wellbeing.
The fellowship is designed to be small and high-trust. We want people to know one another, not simply attend the same programme.
Following the core fellowship, fellows may have opportunities to pursue internships, research, projects and collaborations through the wider Oxford and Effective Altruism ecosystem.
What makes the table different?
There are already excellent programmes for learning about global health.
There are excellent programmes for developing technical expertise.
There are excellent programmes for career planning.
The Table sits at the intersection.
We want to develop people who are not only good at what they do, but who can think well about what is worth doing in the first place.
We also believe that lived experience matters. The people closest to a problem often possess forms of knowledge that cannot be captured by a paper, dataset or policy document alone.
The Table creates space for evidence and experience, ambition and reflection, intellectual rigor and genuine human connection.
Who is it aimed at?
The Table is open to Oxford students and early-career professionals who are interested in improving global health and wellbeing.
We particularly welcome people considering pathways in:
Global health
Medicine and healthcare
Health policy
Public policy
Research
Healthcare leadership
Advocacy
International development
Social policy
Other fields with potential to improve human wellbeing
You do not need to have studied global health, worked in healthcare or encountered Effective Altruism before.
You might be a medical student considering tropical medicine. A postgraduate researcher thinking about health systems. A future policymaker interested in population health. An advocate who wants to understand evidence better. Or someone who simply knows they want their career to contribute to a healthier world, but hasn't yet worked out how.
We are interested in your potential, your curiosity and your willingness to think seriously about how you can contribute.
What are the requirements?
The Table runs for six weeks. To take part, you should be:
Curious.
Willing to engage seriously with unfamiliar ideas and perspectives.
Ambitious.
Interested in developing yourself and eventually taking meaningful responsibility in your field.
Open-minded.
Willing to question your assumptions, change your mind and learn from others.
Action-oriented.
Interested not just in understanding global health problems, but in doing something about them.
No prior knowledge of Effective Altruism is required.
The Table is hosted by Effective Altruism Oxford, but you do not need to identify with EA or have previous involvement with the community to apply.
Curriculum Overview
Our curriculum draws on ideas from global health, medicine, economics, philosophy, psychology, public policy, statistics, systems thinking and leadership.
Each week asks a different question about how we can become more effective leaders for global wellbeing.
