Max Institute of Healthcare Management

Title: Intern, Max Institute of Healthcare Management (MIHM), Indian School of Business (ISB)

Location: ISB Mohali/Hyderabad Campus OR Remote

Number of positions: 1

Duration: Till July 2021

Job Summary: The successful candidate will carry out research activities within the mission and strategy of MIHM in one or more of its research themes: (i) Health System Design, (ii) Innovation and Entrepreneurship, (iii) Public Policy and Financing, (iv) Behavioral Change under close guidance and supervision of ISB faculty members.

The job duties include aligning methodologies with research goals, using a range of tools to acquire information and interpret data, writing up reports and presenting findings and schedules to different stakeholders, identifying trends and patterns, conducting fieldwork and tests when required, as well as protecting databases and confidential information. The person will be responsible for collecting, organizing, analyzing data, and explore issues. This position is best suited for candidates who are interested in either pursuing a PhD or a career in research.

One of our current projects is related to Covid-19 testing. The intern will work closely with laboratories, the Government, and other stakeholders for this project.

Responsibilities: The intern’s primary areas of work will include one or more of the following: healthcare facility costing, behavioral change, monitoring and evaluation, supply chain mapping, evaluating technology-enabled innovation healthcare delivery models, impact evaluation. Some of the tasks with these projects will include,

1. Fieldwork

a)       Primary Data collection: Running surveys which include questionnaire design, sampling and survey administration.

b)      Database creation: Supervising data-entry, ensuring data quality, creating dataset ready for estimation.

c)       Data analysis: Developing and analyzing statistical and predictive analytic models.

d)      Obtain necessary approvals and ensure smooth ongoing field activities as per project timelines.

e)       Conduct qualitative research in the form of focused group discussions and semi-structured and structured interviews.

2. Desk research

a)       Conduct a critical review of multiple streams of literature (management, economics, public health, health services, epidemiology

b)      Quantitative research (modelling, data analysis, multivariate analysis etc.)

c)       Prepare reports and presentations based on research findings for internal (within ISB) as well as external agency.

Skills and Qualifications:

1.       Master’s degree (or bachelor’s degree from premier institute) in management, operations, economics, public health, epidemiology, engineering, or public policy. Graduates from other disciplines may also be considered if they have demonstrable experience in or knowledge of the healthcare sector.

2.       Candidates with prior experience in health systems costing, healthcare supply chain, ICT and healthcare, monitoring and evaluation, impact evaluation, behavioral change, field work, qualitative research, will receive strong preference.

3.       Proficiency in at least one statistical and computational packages such as R, Python, and STATA is essential.

4.       Familiarity with advanced research methodologies such as statistics, econometrics, simulation, optimization, survey design, and field experiments are desirable.

5.       Prior experience in fieldwork will be an added advantage.

6.       Strong writing skills in English and ability to present concepts and data effectively.

7.       Independently carry out research activities and maintain high quality and integrity of work process and results.

8.       Responsive to mentorship to produce high-quality outputs in the defined timeframe.

About ISB and MIHM:

MIHM’s vision is to become a thought leader in the Indian healthcare scene through cutting edge research, innovation education programs, and deep industry engagement. Major themes of MIHM’s activities include Management of Healthcare Delivery Institutions, Financing of Healthcare and Healthcare Policy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Behavioral Change.

ISB faculty aligned with MIHM have a wide range of research interests: impact of operational decisions on population-level health outcomes, application of behavioral economics to wellness programs; global pharmaceutical economics and innovation, leadership and change management in healthcare delivery institutions, innovation and scalability of social ventures in healthcare, use of information and communication technology to improve healthcare delivery. In the past, MIHM has collaborated with and has been funded by leading organizations such as Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, PFI, CDDEP, PATH, Clinton Health Access Initiative, USAID and Abt Associates Inc.

COVID-19 Testing project:

As India surpasses many countries in the global COVID-19 case incidence, the Government has increased its testing significantly. However, the current testing rate in India is still lower than where it needs to be.  Through this project, we aim to demonstrate cost-effective, sustainable, and scalable testing solution packages. The contributions of this project are classified under three broad focus areas:

Supply-Side The study's objective is to increase throughput, enhance capacity and reduce TAT of the Covid-19 testing system. This demonstration would be done through capacity building of public sector laboratories, testing new and approved technologies, improving technical support for operationalizing new testing strategies while resuming economic activities to disrupt COVID-19 transmission through equitable, affordable, and high-quality testing services.  We will support the local governments in convening the relevant stakeholders like government organizations, diagnostic laboratory chains, medical colleges, partner organizations, and community-based local organizations at the state level to increase the reach and equitable distribution of the testing facilities. The project will deliver data-driven decision support tools, a playbook for implementation and scale-up of different operating models, costing of various testing strategies, mapping laboratories, and their capacity to conduct COVID-19 tests to data district administrations. It will inform government resourcing to eventually increase the coverage of COVID-19 testing and improve the equitable distribution of the testing solutions. An iterative design that is differentiated, need-based and driven, with the dynamic implementation modified to fit the local context, are the key characteristics of this project. The final goal achieved would be creating sustainable COVID-19 containment models that prepare and reinforce the health system for future pandemics. 

Demand side: The objective is to conduct rigorous research grounded in Economic and Behavioral sciences to understand the general population’s attitudes and beliefs on Covid-19 disease and its testing and propose differentiated solutions to improve testing uptake. 

Data analytics: The objective is to understand, evaluate and track the current and past COVID-19 situation, track epi-indicators, and support the supply and demand-side analysis. We present various visualizations of key indicators over time and geographies and perform in-depth analysis for testing.  

How to apply:

Send an email to maxinstitute@isb.edu with subject line “Application for MIHM Intern – May 2021” with a copy of your CV. Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled. You will be contacted only in case you are shortlisted for an interview.