There will only be 1 intern selected for this position; however, there will be interns from other US universities participating in the program.
Program Type
International
Organization Name
Internship Location
Musanze District, Rwanda
Organization
Move Up Global is a Boston-based nonprofit dedicated to improving child health and education outcomes in rural Rwanda. They work at the intersection of health and education, addressing preventable illness, absenteeism, and low academic performance by strengthening collaboration among teachers, community health workers, families, and local health facilities.
Their flagship initiative, the Health Passport, is a school-based, child-friendly workbook covering health topics such as neglected tropical diseases, mental health, nutrition, oral health, and sexual/reproductive health. MUG’s research agenda focuses on implementation science, health literacy, and community-driven quality improvement.
Position Overview
The internship supports a community-based quality improvement research project focused on piloting and evaluating the Health Passport in rural Rwanda. Interns work with teachers, community health workers, and the Move Up Global team to gather data, provide analysis, support quality improvement (QI) initiatives, and contribute to reports and communication materials.
Responsibilities
Health Literacy Assessment: Analyze Health Passport data (module completion, self-assessment scores, family engagement) to assess student and family health literacy and identify gaps.
Quality Improvement Project Design: Co-design small-scale QI initiatives, including planning early PDSA (Plan–Do–Study–Act) cycles.
Implementation Support: Provide analytic and documentation support to the team based on field reports and monitoring data.
Data Synthesis & Reporting: Prepare summaries, dashboards, visualizations, and midline/endline reports with insights and recommendations.
Communication & Documentation: Document QI processes, lessons learned, and produce dissemination materials such as briefs, stories, or visuals.
Participate in regular team meetings and collaborate on analysis and program decisions.
Qualifications
Coursework or experience in global health, public health, epidemiology, anthropology, or related fields
Experience with qualitative analysis (coding, thematic synthesis) or basic quantitative tools (Excel, Stata, R)
Exposure to child health, health literacy, or school-based interventions
Skills in developing communication materials (briefs, social media, narratives)
Interest in NGO work or resource-limited settings
Learning Outcomes
Hands-on experience in community-based quality improvement research
Skills in analyzing program data to assess health literacy
Exposure to designing and planning QI projects (including PDSA cycles)
Experience working with nonprofit health–education interventions in rural settings
Strengthened report writing, data synthesis, and communication skills
Understanding challenges and opportunities in implementing health literacy tools in low-resource contexts
Experience with interdisciplinary collaboration across health, education, and community systems
Internship Themes / Keywords
Fieldwork, Research, Health Literacy, Community Engagement, Quality Improvement, Data Analysis
Training / Orientation
Pre-travel orientation covering cultural immersion and Community-Defined Quality Improvement training
Organization-specific orientation with on-the-ground team in Rwanda
Work Environment
Primarily in-person in Rwanda. All programmatic and implementation activities occur on the ground through partnerships with local schools and communities. U.S.-based leadership works remotely.