“This has been one of the most rewarding and developmental experiences of my professional life so far. It is very hard to succinctly describe the journey and the impact of being a Sciana Fellow, but we were asked to do just that when we met Cohort Six for the first time; our headlines were Place, People, Process, Play and Passion, which I think is a great shorthand for what makes this programme so special.  

“It is always a real privilege to be given the space to think but to be given the space to think in this kind of setting is almost unbelievable. And to do so within a cohort of international health experts is hugely educational and humbling, and so important due to the obvious fact that there are an awful lot of global challenges that are shared by health systems across the world. And we need to get better at identifying those challenges, recognising the commonalities, and working together to start solving them. Sciana is amazing in terms of creating and nurturing those important cross-border relationships and common causes.” 

"During my time as a Sciana Fellow, I have gained invaluable insights from the diverse leadership experiences of my peers. It has been particularly enriching to understand how different career paths are forged. The exchange of ideas and perspectives, especially regarding effective practices in various medical fields and innovative approaches to problem-solving, has been immensely beneficial for my professional and personal development. The broad range of tools and strategies I've acquired should not be underestimated.

"The continuous process of exchanging knowledge with colleagues has been instrumental in addressing current issues and topics of concern. A significant learning point for me has been the concept of "system leadership," which was relatively new to me. Understanding this concept has provided me with a framework to impact different areas within the medical field."

"I have promoted concepts of health literacy, One Health transformation, and digital innovation in multiple settings. I have gained the confidence to challenge complacency about climate change and promoted and supported the work on our NHS Green Plan and community transformation programmes, including working on bids to radically shift the delivery of mental health alongside physical health interventions at the community level. 

"I increasingly recognise the importance of talking to and working with the vast number of people interested in health inequalities, population health, the social and commercial determinants of health, and adverse weather conditions, and I am participating with more vigour and impact in research and change programmes relating to these themes. 

"I have been able to share my successes and challenges within the wider Sciana Fellows group, and the conversations I have had with others on the programme have inspired and enriched me, enabling me to do the same to others back at home. It has also been a pleasure to support other Salzburg Global Fellows, and I look forward to continuing to support other programmes. 

"In short, it has been a privilege and a worthwhile endeavour, which has resulted in many new friends and allies whose power will sustain me for years to come."

"My experience so far has been fantastic. Being a part of this network has been great. Through this, I have met inspiring colleagues from the UK, Switzerland, and Germany. As a cohort and with my peers, we are at very similar stages in our work trajectory and also battling the same challenges in our various health systems. 

"Sometimes, it is easy to remain insular within your own country and have a single view on what healthcare might look like. Networks like Sciana allow you to develop a new perspective because you get exposed to diverse and innovative ways of thinking for other solutions that might have already been developed or inspirational people who are driving and looking at health from a different lens."

"I am taking back the motivation to implement One Health in my daily work on health literacy, for example, in education, as I am also giving lectures to nursing staff and in nursing science. And I realised when I mentioned the aspect of planetary health or One Health, they [did] not know about it. So, if health professionals do not know about the issue, you cannot expect that anyone from the general population knows. So, we have to spread the mission and make people more aware of it.

"What I also take back is the aspect of always bringing in or trying to get in different perspectives, being participatory in our daily work, connecting with others and being compassionate as a leader."

"My [experience] in the programme is tremendously positive. To be able to step away from the operational issues of the day job and focus on some big strategic issues with diversity of thought from leaders. It's very different in Germany and Switzerland to how the NHS operates here in the UK, but at the same time, [there are] similar problems around workforce and financial challenges. I think that networking and the ability to apply that diversity shouldn't be underestimated."

"I must say that I talk about this [Sciana] model almost everywhere where I am. I really think this is a very, very good fit-for-purpose way to have people learn and adapt and use [it] right away. It doesn't give you a formal diploma. No. But it makes you grow as a person. So, I have also learned a lot because these are all very, very highly skilled leaders who have very, very demanding jobs who still prioritise to come here and work with it. So, from each of them, I've learned specific skills, which is a gift in itself. So sometimes I wonder if I wasn't the one who got [the] most out of it in that way."

"One of the things I've developed a new emphasis on is being able to constantly reframe what I'm doing on a day-to-day basis. I would previously have probably focused on reframing that in the context of my local health economy and what it means to my day-to-day stakeholders. 

"What Sciana has pushed me to do is to reframe what I'm doing in the context of the national health system and society as a whole. That is incredibly helpful in engaging a much broader group of people in thinking more strategically about what we want to be doing in the future. In terms of my own personal resilience, being able to tell the story of what we're doing in a societal context is very helpful when I've faced challenges."

“In terms of how I got here, I participated in a Health Foundation programme called Generation Q several years ago, and it was pivotal in my leadership journey. At that point, it was around 2010. I did that, and it was instrumental in helping me develop and grow my career and leadership. I have always been interested in developments coming through the Health Foundation. I had a couple of colleagues in Scotland who had also been to a Sciana programme, so I was aware of it. I saw the applications open and applied. When I finally did get selected, I felt very privileged to realise that I was one of only six participants from our country. I [was] interested in having these sorts of conversations and understanding different perspectives. Learning from others, from other nations, exchanging ideas and challenging one another is more important than ever.

“The other thing you are struck by when you come here is the quality of the people you meet. That includes my peers on the programme, and the speakers who [were] brought in, and people working at the highest level of global health who are thought leaders around these topics, which is not something you can achieve typically. I would also like to get into more opportunities to connect beyond just the Sciana Network and to the incredible wider and global fellowship resource here. The principles that underpin Salzburg Global and Sciana are critical to improvements in the world.”

"The calibre and depths of conversations that we have as Sciana Fellows and the insights we give to and receive from each other are unlike anything else I get anywhere in the work that I do. The discussions are challenging, stimulating, robust but sensitive, and they stay with me for months after each in-person meeting. I like the concept of "liminal spaces"; these are the transient spaces you find between running from one meeting to another and where useful and interesting conversations often happen. Salzburg is full of these little spaces for those sorts of conversations, and they happen all the time."

"What I got from Sciana goes further than just learning; it's inspiration. Without inspiration, you can't be compassionate, and you will never get compassion and inspiration from reading or studying. You'll get it from meeting people. I think it's quite courageous in times we face now having such a network that has a truly humanistic mission. That mission, we need it more now than 20 years ago."

“There are different kinds of leaders and different kinds of people coming to Sciana. For me, I was always just doing my work. I never considered myself to be a leader, even though I’m now running a company. I never looked at it that way.

“The Sciana programme was the first time that I looked at myself as [a] leader and began to think about what being a leader means. Prior to that, I just got on with my work, I got promoted, I ended up becoming a leader without really acknowledging that it had happened.

“Sciana has really changed how I understand my role. I am much more conscious about being a leader now. I’m not sure whether it has improved my effectiveness as a leader, but I’m certainly more aware of it. It really helped me better understand what leadership is, why I am a leader and how I can be a better leader.”

“In Sciana, there may be people who are academics, people who run a hospital, or work in tech, some are patients, some are nurses. And I found that really made a difference; this sense of bringing different perspectives together. But also everyone having a like-minded commitment to exploring ideas of leadership.

“I’m a big supporter of creating networks that go beyond the traditional circles and bubbles that people engage in. And I actually primarily think that that’s best achieved by bringing people together, across professions.”

"I was intimidated to start with, being surrounded by all these health leaders. But it ended up really helping my self-confidence.

“I’ve seen some exemplary leadership in this group, in the way people present themselves and manage things and explain things. I’ve learned so much, and it has helped me to adapt. Sciana cultivates collaborative thinking, and I came to see that there are many different approaches.”

"Thomas Zeltner has really helped me recognize the need to consider 'how' I work now, to ensure I work and lead in a sustainable way, to deliver my role, but also protect my and my staff's health and wellbeing."

"This is such a wonderful opportunity for busy leaders to take time out, to think with colleagues and to be tested in terms of traditional ideas about leadership. Wonderful!"

“Sciana has had a lasting effect on me. We discussed the impact of health care on climate change, and the impact of migration on health care in different countries – these are aspects that I hadn’t really focused on before, and that will clearly play an important role in the future.”

“The conversations I had were much better quality than the conversations you have at work – because of the lack of time constraints that you have in a normal working day. And this is one of the things I’m trying to take away from it in my work life.”

“What affected me the most was that it changed the way I view health care, and how you go about achieving the best quality health and health care. I learned more about how you need to look at the whole environment and community of people – it is far broader than before.

“I try to use this in my work now, particularly in thinking about public health and disease prevention.”

"Discussion within our challenge group during and after our visit was most useful, helped bring a whole new dimension to my thinking about leading transformation."

„Sciana ist ein Feuerwerk an Ideen, Impulsen, Inspirationen. Der intensive Austausch mit Führungspersonen aus dem Gesundheitswesen dreier Länder ist enorm bereichernd und anregend. Er zwingt zum Verlassen der gedanklichen Komfortzone und öffnet Herz und Hirn für neue Sicht-, Denk- und Handlungsweisen.“

„Sortir la tête du guidon lors de rencontres dans un cadre inspirant avec des experts de Suisse, d'Allemagne et de Grande-Bretagne m'a permis de réfléchir aux enjeux communs de nos systèmes de santé et de mieux comprendre les différentes réponses nationales à ces défis. Dans un environnement de confiance et d'ouverture, l'échange et l'apprentissage prennent une place majeure. Le réseau que j'ai tissé à Salzburg est un acquis qui perdure au-delà du programme.“

“Sciana allowed me the space to really think about particular areas. One of those areas was patient-centred care. I had always focused on this, but the Sciana experience helped me to get that really clear and has led me to put even more emphasis on it.”

“The people in Sciana are all dedicated to health care. We are all leading people in health care and have worked in it for a number of years. If I have a challenge or an idea, I know who to call in the Sciana Network. I can ask, ‘Have you tried this? How would you tackle this?’ This is what I like – it is different to calling someone cold. It’s a living network and it’s important to be engaged and engage yourself in it.

“It opens doors. If you have a great idea, you can bring that idea to other people. Regardless of where you are from and what your background is, we’re all working towards the same targets.”

„Sciana unterstützt meine Vision als Gesundheitsmanager. Es versetzt Führungskräfte in die Lage, Verantwortung zu übernehmen und den Mut zu haben, ihre Organisationen zu lenken, zu entwickeln und zu formen, um das Gesundheitssystem zu verbessern, ohne dabei die Komplexität der individuellen Versorgung von Patient:innen aus den Augen zu verlieren.“