Médecins Sans Frontières
The Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute, Médecins Sans Frontières and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) have formed a unique education partnership, via a joint vision of supporting global humanitarian assistance, with a focus on saving lives in resource-poor countries through research, education and capacity strengthening.
The Leadership Education Academic Partnership (LEAP) Programme in Humanitarian Practice launched in January 2019, with the aim of enhancing the skills and knowledge of humanitarian professionals for stronger operations and leadership in the field.
The driving force behind the LEAP programme is to provide a degree that reflects the need for critical thinking and analytical reasoning, supporting humanitarian professionals to discover alternative responses to challenges presented in their own organisation and beyond.
This offering is unique. We have organised it in such a way that it reflects the scoping and strategic needs as identified by MSF.
Professor Bertrand Taithe / Executive Director of HCRI
Through its joint delivery by two leading institutes in the field of humanitarian education, LEAP brings together experience from subject areas including humanities, political science, development, global and public health, epidemiology and the arts to deliver a truly multidisciplinary approach to education. Its co-production between practitioners and universities is unique in combining conceptual debates with the dilemmas of everyday humanitarian practice.
Global student community
Students and alumni of the LEAP programme have come from over 40 countries. The programme is now open to applications from any humanitarian professionals with the aim of supporting access to education to promising humanitarian leaders through a blended online and face-to-face environment. The flexibility of the programme allows it to be studied alongside a student's professional work, regardless of location or job function.
Wider links with MSF
As an Institute, we maintain strong links with MSF outside of the LEAP programme. Our Institute Director Rony Brauman was President of Médecins Sans Frontières (France) for 12 years and Director of Research Bertrand Taithe is on the Scientific Board of CRASH at MSF Paris.
The organisation is one of the leading bodies in international medical assistance and we have helped influence activity whilst gaining insights from operations all over the world.