This fellowship offers emerging researchers the opportunity to travel abroad, gain valuable skills, and build a professional network. For Jess, the scholarship represents a significant milestone in her career, providing the chance to take her work to a global stage.

In addition to this fellowship, Jess is also a recipient of the PMA Knowledge Hub Doctoral Scholarship and serves on the teaching team for the Knowledge Hub micro-credential course, a collaboration between the Pasifika Medical Association and the University of Auckland.

“It’s amazing to have the recognition to go overseas to pursue this on a larger scale,” Jess says, expressing her excitement about the opportunity. The fellowship will support her three-month project in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) and Tampere University Collaborating Centre, where she will work on the upcoming launch of a report on social determinants of health equity. The project involves collaborating with the WHO's health equity team and helping to disseminate the report’s findings.

Jess shares her passion for health equity and how it has shaped her research journey.

“I’ve always been passionate about health equity, with a particular focus on Pacific health equity.”

This fellowship will allow her to explore how non-academic organisations, like WHO, approach health equity research.

“It’s the other side of the coin,” she says. “While academic institutions drive the research, non-academic organisations also conduct research but often with different goals and objectives.”

She also highlights how this project aligns with her long-term objective of tackling health inequities.

“It’s an opportunity to gain as much experience as I can in different spaces while I still have flexibility as an emerging researcher.”

Through this fellowship, Hutchings will be taking a critical step toward shaping her future in health equity, allowing her to fully capitalise on the opportunities this scholarship provides.