Call for applications: Cohort 8

The Network’s next cohort will focus on “Systems leadership for ageing in good health”

Details on how to apply for the Sciana Network’s eighth cohort are now available.

The Network is looking for mid-senior-level leaders in Germany, Switzerland, and the UK who have the potential to transform the future of care, health, and wellbeing.

Successful applicants will join a growing community of international health leaders seeking to catalyse and empower collective action for systems-level change.

During the two-year programme, they will work in small teams and collaborate on projects tied to the Sciana Challenge—an applied leadership project.

The focus for Cohort 8’s Sciana Challenge—in alignment with the WHO/Europe 2025 strategy—will be “Systems leadership for ageing in good health”.

As programme co-leads, David Behan and Mary Helen Pombo will work in close collaboration with the Network’s partner organisations: The Health Foundation, Careum, and the Bosch Health Campus.

Sciana Advisors and visiting speakers will also be on hand to share their experiences, provide guidance, and prompt participants to think differently about approaching challenges in their day-to-day work.

Cohort 8 will meet for four residential meetings at Schloss Leopoldskron in Salzburg, Austria, home of Salzburg Global—the Network’s programme development and management partner.

The tentative dates* for the residential meetings are:

• Residential Meeting 1: 19-23 May 2026
• Residential Meeting 2: 10-14 Nov 2026
• Residential Meeting 3: 02-06 May 2027
• Residential Meeting 4: 14-18 Nov 2027

The Network is looking for leaders who can catalyse and empower collective action among actors, organisations, and coalitions for systems-level change in health. These leaders are bridge-builders, connectors, and leaders for progress.

Applicants may work for health and healthcare organisations but can also be patient advocates, community organisation leaders, entrepreneurs, communication professionals, academics, and researchers.

The Network encourages people of all genders, races/ethnicities, and people with disabilities to apply. It values diversity, equity, and inclusion and strives to create an inclusive community of healthcare leaders from different backgrounds and ages who bring unique perspectives.

The application deadline is 30 June 2025, but applications will be reviewed continuously.

If a high volume of strong applications is received in advance, the call for applications will be closed before the official deadline. With that in mind, applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible.

All applicants will receive a response by early October 2025, and selected applicants will be invited to an online interview.

For more information on how to apply and the selection criteria, please visit the application page for Cohort 8.

*These dates include travel time to Salzburg. Participants arrive in the evening on the first day and travel back home in the morning of the last day. The official programme takes place over three days.

Participants are expected required to attend all four of the three-day meetings in Salzburg. They are also encouraged to work in smaller project teams in between formal meetings to collaborate on joint projects, which involves two to four hours per month.