Through this newly introduced Executive Master’s programme, SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute is deepening its collaboration with India via Asian HEAL, with the goal of building regional leadership capacity and preparing senior healthcare professionals to drive transformation across Asia’s diverse health systems.
The partnership brings together leading expertise from across the region, including renowned Indian healthcare innovators such as Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, Chairman, Narayana Health, and Dr N. Venkatesh Prajna, Chief, Cornea and Refractive Surgery Services, Aravind Eye Hospital. Both leaders have been instrumental in pioneering scalable, affordable, and high-quality care models that have shaped healthcare delivery across Asia.
A Milestone for Asia’s Healthcare Education
The Executive Master’s programme marks a first-of-its-kind collaboration between Singapore and India, combining Singapore’s governance and systems excellence with India’s proven strengths in delivering cost-effective innovations. The 15-month, part-time programme begins in Singapore and includes immersive site visits to India, Thailand, and the Philippines.
With a curriculum grounded in regional realities, the programme champions Asian-led healthcare solutions instead of traditional Western frameworks, equipping leaders to address Asia’s unique demographic pressures, resource variations, and cultural nuances.
“Asia’s healthcare challenges cannot be solved by importing models, they must be shaped by leaders who understand the realities on the ground. Asian HEAL offers a powerful platform for us to share what has worked in India and learn from our neighbours, so that together we can build systems that are efficient, compassionate, and designed for scale. This collaboration marks an important step toward creating the next generation of healthcare leaders for our region,”
— Dr Devi Prasad Shetty
Real-World Learning to Inspire Practical Solutions
The programme emphasises experiential, practitioner-led learning, weaving together real-world case studies, cross-border faculty interactions, and regional site visits. Participants will gain first-hand exposure to some of Asia’s most successful health delivery models, including Narayana Health’s community-based cardiac care and Aravind Eye Care’s high-volume, efficiency-driven service model.
These lessons demonstrate how technology, data-driven decision-making, and operations excellence can expand access and improve outcomes—even in resource-limited settings.
“Collaboration is at the heart of sustainable healthcare transformation. Through Asian HEAL, we have a unique opportunity to engage deeply with peers across Asia, exchange practical insights, and collectively reimagine how care can be delivered more effectively. When regional expertise comes together in this way, it creates lasting impact for both practitioners and the patients we serve,”
— Dr N. Venkatesh Prajna
Driving Innovation Through Dialogue
A key highlight of the India component will be a fireside chat featuring Dr Prajna and Dr Paul Salins, Senior Maxillofacial Surgeon and Director, Mazumdar Shaw Medical Foundation. The session, titled “Strategic Innovations for Future Healthcare,” will explore how leadership, technology, and cross-sector collaboration are reshaping hospital operations and patient care.
“Dialogues like the fireside chat are important in highlighting the lived experiences of healthcare practitioners. These conversations offer invaluable insights from those who have successfully navigated change within complex health systems. By grounding our teaching in real-world practice, we empower participants to translate leadership principles into measurable systems transformation that can directly improve patient care and outcomes across the region,”
— Professor Ong Biauw Chi, Course Director, Executive Master’s Programme and Chief Risk Officer, SingHealth
Building Future-Ready Health Systems for Asia
By bringing together Singapore’s systems excellence and India’s innovation-driven approach, the Executive Master in Healthcare Leadership and Management is poised to nurture the next generation of healthcare leaders across Asia—empowering them to build health systems that are more resilient, equitable, scalable, and future-ready.
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