Course description
Why is this course particularly relevant in today’s global context?
The health of humans, animals, and the environment is deeply interconnected, yet these links are often overlooked in policy and practice. Rapid climate change, extreme weather events, and ecosystem disruption are making disease patterns, food security, and water safety increasingly unpredictable. Globalisation accelerates the spread of pathogens, contaminants, and antimicrobial resistance across borders, while the rise of drug-resistant infections threatens medicine, food systems, and global health security. These challenges highlight the urgent need for systems-based, interdisciplinary approaches to address complex, cross-cutting risks. This course offers students an opportunity to explore these issues through an integrated lens, combining human, animal, and environmental health perspectives.
What makes this topic globally significant beyond local contexts?
The course examines the global interdependence of health systems. Students will explore how outbreaks in one region can escalate into worldwide crises, how local antimicrobial use influences resistance patterns, and how environmental contamination affects shared waterways, illustrated through a case study of the Venetian Lagoon. Climate change, though disproportionately affecting vulnerable regions, has consequences across continents. By emphasising international cooperation, equitable resource distribution, and cross-sector collaboration, the course demonstrates that effective interventions require understanding the interconnectedness of societies, ecosystems, and governance structures. Students are encouraged to recognise that siloed approaches are insufficient, and that proactive measures such as surveillance, stewardship, sustainable agriculture, and environmental protection are more effective than reactive responses.
The programme is interdisciplinary, integrating medicine, veterinary science, microbiology, ecology, economics, and policy studies. It develops critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, and leadership skills through active, hands-on learning. Signature activities include interactive lectures, flipped classroom sessions, and hands-on exercises. In the LEGO systems game, students will model antimicrobial resistance as a socio-ecological system, visualising interactions between humans, animals, and the environment. Concept mapping exercises allow participants to trace global One Health drivers, while developing infographics and social media campaigns enables them to communicate complex challenges to diverse audiences. Case studies and group problem-solving activities foster analytical skills, systems thinking, and ethical reasoning, equipping students to propose scientifically rigorous, socially equitable, and environmentally sustainable interventions. Field visits, including to the Ospedale degli Incurabili, allow students to examine Venetian Renaissance institutional architecture, discussing how environmental design reduced disease and drawing parallels to modern hospitals.
What should emerging leaders recognise to respond responsibly to this issue?
By the conclusion of this course, students will be able to assess One Health challenges across global contexts, design integrative interventions for humans, animals, and ecosystems, and critically reflect on ethical, cultural, and socio-political dimensions of health solutions. The programme aligns with Sustainable Development Goals SDG 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), and SDG 13 (Climate Action) emphasising the role of interdisciplinary, globally minded professionals in promoting sustainable and resilient health systems. Through experiential learning, collaborative problem-solving, and practical engagement, this course will prepare students to become informed, adaptable leaders capable of safeguarding the health of people, animals, and the planet in an increasingly interconnected world.

Preliminary virtual component before arrival in Venice
(week commencing 21st July)
This introductory session will be delivered via Zoom and will provide an opportunity for students to meet one another and gain an overview of the course structure, field activities, and assessment components. To encourage early engagement, the session will include a series of structured interactive activities. Students will participate in a brief icebreaker, introducing their name, institution, country, and interest in One Health, highlighting the cohort’s international and interdisciplinary diversity. An interactive digital map activity will invite participants to identify their home country and a relevant human, animal, or environmental health challenge, illustrating the global scope of One Health issues. A short poll will assess baseline knowledge of key concepts such as climate-related health risks and zoonotic diseases. Together, these activities will establish a collaborative learning environment and emphasise the interconnected nature of global health challenges. The session will be recorded for those who are unable to attend, and the activities are formative in nature.

Discipline Specific Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Explain the One Health concept and its relevance in globalised societies, including the interconnections between humans, animals, and ecosystems in disease emergence.
• Analyse the drivers and consequences of zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and environmental contamination across global contexts.
• Evaluate global governance strategies, policies, and interventions for health security, sustainability, and pandemic prevention, demonstrating ethical awareness.
• Explain the ecological, health, and economic significance of fungi, including both beneficial species and pathogenic fungi, across human, animal, and environmental systems.
• Analyse the impact of climate change on the emergence, distribution, and ecology of fungal diseases and mycotoxins, considering global health and food security implications.
• Evaluate the drivers, mechanisms, and consequences of antifungal resistance and mycotoxin contamination across clinical, veterinary, agricultural, and food systems.

Module-specific ILOS
The module specific ILOs include to:
1. Apply interdisciplinary approaches to design integrative, socially equitable, and environmentally sustainable solutions to complex One Health challenges.
2. Collaborate effectively across disciplines and communicate scientific, policy, and ethical aspects of One Health to diverse audiences, including non-specialists.
3. Use practical tools, such as systems mapping or concept mapping, and visual communication, to interpret, present, and analyse complex One Health issues.
4. Reflect critically on their role as future leaders and practitioners in promoting sustainable and resilient health systems.

Personal and key skills
Students will develop the following key skills:
I. Teamwork: Collaborate effectively in interdisciplinary groups, taking leadership roles or supporting peers in research, analysis, and presentation tasks.
II. Public Speaking: Deliver presentations to peers and tutors, communicating complex interdisciplinary concepts clearly and confidently.
III. Effective Communication: Engage respectfully with colleagues, providing constructive feedback, reflecting on differing perspectives, and negotiating collaborative solutions.
IV. Critical Thinking: Analyse evidence from scientific, socio-cultural, and policy sources, reflecting on uncertainties, biases, and assumptions in One Health research.
V. Problem-Solving: Apply analytical and creative approaches to propose solutions for real-world One Health challenges in local and global contexts.

Assessments
There will be four assessments, each differing in scope, marks, knowledge, and content, as outlined below:

A. From Local Outbreak to Global Crisis: A One Health Analysis (20%)
This assignment introduces students to the One Health approach by exploring how human, animal, and environmental health are interconnected in the context of zoonotic disease outbreaks. Students will analyse a real-world case study and evaluate its global implications using a One Health lens.
By completing this assignment, students will be able to: explain the principles of the One Health approach, analyse the interconnected drivers of zoonotic disease emergence. evaluate the global implications of a specific outbreak, communicate complex global health issues concisely and clearly, and provide constructive, criteria-based peer feedback.
Students will choose a case study on zoonotic outbreaks from either COVID-19, Avian influenza, Ebola. Students may also identify an alternative zoonotic outbreak, subject to approval. Students are to submit as a word or PDF document.
Case Study Summary assignment details (500 -600 words)
Select one zoonotic outbreak that clearly demonstrates the interaction between: Human health, Animal health, and Environmental factors and prepare a case study summary that addresses:
I. Background of the outbreak
II. One Health Dimensions
III. Global Implications
IV. Critical Reflection

The summary should be concise, analytical, and properly referenced using Harvard.

Peer Review
Students will upload their summaries to the Moodle learning platform. Each student will:
• Be anonymously assigned at least one peers’ submission
• Provide constructive feedback using the guided marking criteria
• Offer at least one strength and one area for improvement
Peer marking is formative and designed to develop critical evaluation skills.
The assignment itself is summative and accounts for 20% of the final scores.

B. Designing Health Through Space – A One Health Architectural Analysis (20%)
In this assignment, students will visit the Ospedale degli Incurabili in Venice, a sixteenth-century hospital now occupied by the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia, to explore how architecture and environmental design historically influenced health outcomes. Working in small interdisciplinary teams, students will document architectural features such as courtyards, ventilation, circulation, and water access, considering how these elements may have reduced disease transmission in a pre-modern medical context. If time permits, students will also visit Ospedale dell'Angelo (or Ospedale dell’Angelo), which are more modern. Pictures can be taken if permitted by the hospital management.
The core task involves producing a comparative portfolio titled “Healing Spaces Then and Now”, which includes: a visual systems map linking architectural features to health outcomes; a written analysis (1,000 words) comparing historical design with a contemporary hospital, focusing on infection prevention, sustainability, and One Health principles; and a short design brief (500 words) proposing an innovation for a climate-resilient, health-promoting hospital. Groups will also deliver a brief on-site presentation highlighting one architectural feature and its potential health rationale.
This assignment develops key skills in systems thinking, interdisciplinary analysis, historical and contemporary comparison, visual and written communication, and collaborative problem-solving. It emphasises the importance of spatial design as a determinant of health and encourages students to connect lessons from historical architecture to modern challenges such as infection control, climate adaptation, and sustainable healthcare infrastructure. By integrating observation, analysis, and applied design, students gain a deeper understanding of how environmental planning contributes to resilient, equitable health systems, bridging historical knowledge with future-oriented One Health thinking.

C. One Health Policy Brief Presentation: Addressing a Global Challenge (40%)
Students will research a global One Health challenge and present evidence-based, practical interventions that integrate human, animal, and environmental health perspectives. The activity develops critical thinking, interdisciplinary reasoning, and professional communication skills.

D. In-Class Debate Assignment: Who’s Responsible for Antifungal Resistance? (20%)
Antifungal resistance is a growing global health threat. Various stakeholders could be considered responsible, including healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies, farmers, policymakers, and patients. This debate asks you to research, argue, and defend a specific viewpoint.
After the debate, each student writes up to 1-page reflection.

Teaching Method
Flipped classroom, interactive workshops, debates, presentations, group projects

Grading
In-class debate 20%
Presentation of field activities 20%
Case study summary 20%
Policy assignment and infographic 40%

Syllabus

Session 1: Foundations of One Health
Theme: Understanding interconnected health systems
• History and evolution of One Health, Human–animal–environment interface, Why One Health matters in a globalised world, Venice (or any other city chosen by students) as a case study of environmental–human interconnection
• Lecture/Discussion: One Health principles and interdisciplinary approach.
• Interactive Group Activity: Mapping connections between humans, animals, and ecosystems in local and global contexts.
• Case study activity on Venice (or any city of choice) as a case study of environmental–human interconnection
• (Formative)

Session 2: Zoonotic diseases, toxins, antibiotic resistance as a sustainability crisis, and emerging pandemics
Theme: Spillover in a connected world
• Drivers of zoonotic disease emergence, Wildlife trade and habitat encroachment, Global travel and rapid transmission, Pandemic preparedness and surveillance
• Hands-on in-class activity: LEGO Systems Game on “Building the AMR System”. The purpose is to help students visualise AMR as a complex socio-ecological system.

Session 3: Urbanisation, Biodiversity, and Ecosystem Health
• Theme: Cities in a globalised world
• Biodiversity loss and disease risk, Urban wildlife interfaces, green infrastructure and public health, the role of coastal and lagoon ecosystems.
• Brief lecture followed by concept map in-class activity with a central node on biodiversity loss and the branches showing disease risk, habitat fragmentation, urbanisation
• Formative activity

Session 4: Policy, Governance, and Future Solutions
• Theme: Implementing One Health globally
• WHO–FAO–WOAH collaboration, international health regulations, Interdisciplinary policy design
• Activity: Policy simulation workshop
• Student group presentations: Students will develop policy briefs that apply evidence to propose practical One Health interventions addressing a global challenge and an infographic suitable for social media campaign.
• Presentation: Groups share their policy briefs for instructor feedback.
• Summative (40%)

Session 5: Positive one-health, beneficial fungi
Theme: The Friendly Fungi: Guardians of Health
Students will explore beneficial fungi like yeast, edible mushrooms, mycorrhizal fungi, and their roles in ecosystems, fungi in Human Health (probiotics), fungi in animal health (symbiotic fungi in livestock or pets); fungi in environmental health (soil enrichment, nutrient cycling)

Session 6: Climate as a One Health Amplifier, Fungi and Climate-Driven Disease Emergence
Theme: When Climate Shifts, Fungi Thrive
Climate change basics & one health – how temperature, humidity, and rainfall influence ecosystems, Fungal Growth & Distribution – how climate changes alter fungal habitats and disease patterns, Emerging Fungal - Diseases examples like Candida auris.
Activity: Case Study Analysis (interactive discussion) - Students will be provided with real or simulated case reports of hospital-acquired fungal infections (e.g., Candida auris outbreaks in ICUs)

Session 7: Antifungal Resistance Across Human, Animal & Agricultural Systems
Theme: The Rising Threat: Fighting Invisible Resistance
Basics of Antifungal Resistance, human Health Impacts - hospital-acquired fungal infections, treatment challenges, Animal & Agricultural Impacts – resistance from livestock, poultry, and crops, One Health Perspective – linking humans, animals, and environment in resistance spread, Stewardship and Policy – responsible antifungal use, regulations, and global initiatives.
Summative in-Class Debate Activity on the topic “Who’s Responsible for Antifungal Resistance?”
Students will be encouraged to explore the One Health dimensions of antifungal resistance (humans, animals, agriculture).
Recommended activity for this session
Case of Aspergillus fumigatus with antifungal resistance acquired in the environment: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-022-01091-2
Participation will be assessed and accounts for 20% of the final scores.

Session 8: Mycotoxins in Global Food Systems
Toxins on Your Plate: Fungal Threats to Food Security
Introduction to mycotoxins, mycotoxins in crops & food chains, health impacts, environmental & climate factors, detection, management & policy
Activity: Interactive quiz, using Mentimeter, on the types and sources of mycotoxins, the impact on human, animal, and environmental health, and strategies for prevention, detection, and management in food systems.

READING LIST
1. WOAH (2025). One Health. [online] WOAH - World Organisation for Animal Health. Available at: https://www.woah.org/en/what-we-do/global-initiatives/one-health/.
2. Brown, H.L., Pursley, I.G., Horton, D.L. and La, R.M. (2024). One health: a structured review and commentary on trends and themes. One Health Outlook, 6(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.1186/s42522-024-00111-x.
3. Faijue, D. D., Segui, A. O., Shringarpure, K., Razavi, A., Hasan, N., Dar, O., & Manikam, L. (2024). Constructing a One Health governance architecture: a systematic review and analysis of governance mechanisms for One Health. European journal of public health, 34(6), 1086–1094. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckae124‌
4. Weston, P. (2025). The nature extinction crisis is mirrored by one in our own bodies. Both have huge implications for health. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/31/nature-extinction-crisis-mirrored-in-our-bodies-huge-health-implications-aoe
5. Rodrigues-Filho, J. L., Macêdo, R. L., Sarmento, H., Pimenta, V. R. A., Alonso, C., Teixeira, C. R., Pagliosa, P. R., Netto, S. A., Santos, N. C. L., Daura-Jorge, F. G., Rocha, O., Horta, P., Branco, J. O., Sartor, R., Muller, J., & Cionek, V. M. (2023). From ecological functions to ecosystem services: linking coastal lagoons biodiversity with human well-being. Hydrobiologia, 850(12-13), 2611–2653. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-023-05171-0‌
6. A one health roadmap towards understanding and mitigating emerging Fungal Antimicrobial Resistance: fAMR (https://www.nature.com/articles/s44259-024-00055-2)
7. Environmental Candida auris and the Global Warming Emergence Hypothesis (https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mbio.00360-21)
Population genomics confirms acquisition of drug-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus infection by humans from the environment (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-022-01091-2)

 Last updated: March 26, 2026