Demonstrating the Power of Interdisciplinary Thinking through Education

Leading and managing in complex, high stakes settings, like health care, where lives and livelihoods are on the line, presents distinctive challenges and constraints. This course challenges you to apply seminal and contemporary theories in organizational behavior to evaluate managerial decisions and develop evidence-based strategies for leading and managing health care teams and organizations. Topics include leading systems that promote learning; implementing change; and interdisciplinary problem-solving, decision-making, and collaboration. Group work and exercises will simulate high pressure and risk-taking under uncertainty. While the focus of this course will be on health care situations, lessons are relevant to other settings including consulting, banking, and high tech, and prior experience in the health sector is not required.

Faculty: Singer, S. (PI)

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MCiM Offering/Curriculum

Are you interested in innovative ideas and strategies for addressing urgent challenges in human and planetary health and creating sustainable societies? This 7 session lecture series features a selection of noteworthy leaders, innovators, and experts across diverse sectors/topics in health and the environment such as: health innovation and environmental sustainability, social and environmental justice and equality, social innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems, foundations and venture capital, tech innovation, media and AI, biotech and ag-tech, pandemics, public health and community wellbeing, food systems and agricultural innovation, hunger and nutrition, clean water and air, nonprofits and community action, public policy innovation and systems change, and the role of academia and you. Co-convened and co-designed by faculty, fellows and students collaborating across several Stanford centers, departments, schools, the course invites the discussion of global problems, interdisciplinary perspectives, and systemic solutions for the climate crisis and human health. The course will address root causes of the climate crisis and urgent challenges of human and planetary health, including sociological constraints, political objectives, economic incentives, technological limitations, and preservation of global stability, and suggest models of leadership, innovation and sustainable social change. We will also delve into efforts to catalyze long-term sustainability across the private, nonprofit, and public sectors. Students from all backgrounds are encouraged to enroll - registration is open to all Stanford students and fellows. May be repeated for credit.

Faculty: Bloom, G. (PI); Singer, S. (PI, SI)

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Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation Lab (SE Lab) - Global & Planetary Health is a Collaboratory workshop for students/fellows to design and develop innovative social ventures addressing key challenges in health and the environment, especially in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 2030). Your mandate in identifying problems and designing solutions is broad and flexible! SE Lab is open to students and fellows across Stanford and combines design thinking exercises, short lectures & case studies, workshops, small group teamwork, presentations, guest speakers, and faculty, practitioner and peer feedback to support you and your team in generating and developing ideas and projects that will change the world! Join SE Lab with an idea or simply the desire to join a team. Enrollment limited to 30.

Faculty: Bloom, G. (PI)

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Israel's innovation ecosystem is one of the most admired in the world. Israel is a leader in health, environmental, and ecological innovation, and despite its small size, Israel is home to a disproportionate number of successful start-ups. Israel combines history, culture, politics, and religion in unparalleled ways that influence not only the human and planetary health innovation ecosystem, but all aspects of life. Students in this course will (1) develop an understanding of how socio-cultural conditions, including political, regulatory, military, and academic institutions; geographical, historical, environmental, and technological conditions; and human cultures and activities have shaped the innovation ecosystem in human and planetary health in Israel into one of the world's most productive centers; (2) gain an appreciation of the advantages and disadvantages faced by entrepreneurs in Israel, how they have evolved, and how they compare to the experience of entrepreneurs in the US and elsewhere; and (3) develop a strategy for delving more deeply into these themes in Israel.

Faculty: Bloom, G. (PI); Singer, S. (PI)

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In this course students will learn about the structure and functioning of the U.S. health care system. The health care system in the U.S. has been challenged by high and rising costs, a failure to ensure universal access to care, and a need to ensure the quality of care provided to patients. We will explore how our health care system works, how its structure and function contributes to the challenges we are confronting, and explore changes to the healthcare system that could help address them. The course has two main parts, the first focused on health insurance and health care financing, and the second focused on health care providers like doctors and hospitals. In addition, we bring other important topics like the Affordable Care Act and health reforms. Throughout the course, we mix lectures and discussions (and even some debates) about the basic structure of the system as well as emerging issues.

Faculty: Baker, L. (PI); Singer, S. (PI)

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In this course, students explore upstream systems that influence health and then apply their learning to generate ideas for making everyday life healthier on campus. Taking a systems approach to health includes the deliberate upstream design of the places we live, learn, work and play to support living in ways that keep people well - physically, emotionally, financially, and socially. Spring Quarter 2026 we are reimagining the Stanford food ecosystem, especially Stanford residential dining, in partnership with Residential & Dining Enterprises.

Faculty:  Bloom, G. (PI); Singer, S. (PI)

This Sustainable Societies Lab (SSL) examines selected models of Israeli-Arab cooperation and pathways to peace in the Middle East. Students explore whether and how governments, businesses, and civil society actors and innovators can work together toward sustainable prosperity in a region marked by historic conflict. The course focuses on practical models of cooperation in the areas of human & planetary health/environmental sustainability, economic development, security, and people-to-people exchanges. Students study peace negotiations and collaborative initiatives, the role of external players like the United States, and future opportunities for regional partnership. Throughout the quarter, students engage with domain experts who have contributed to shaping Middle East policy, peace efforts and development initiatives, including government officials, negotiators, journalists, and social entrepreneurs/innovators. Guest speakers (predominantly by Zoom. Subject to change) include Pulitzer Prize-winning NY Times journalist Tom Friedman, HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal of Saudi Arabia, former peace negotiator and US Ambassador to Israel and Egypt Daniel Kurtzer; Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian co-directors of EcoPeace Middle East, and other regional experts, alongside distinguished Stanford faculty in person. Students enrolled in the 3-unit (WAYS-SI) option will work in teams throughout the quarter to develop a practical model of Israeli-Arab collaboration.

Instructors: Bloom, G. ; Singer, S. ; Magen, A.