Health informatics education and capacity building in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

To describe the experience of, and lessons learned from, a collaborative project developing and delivering an MSc in Health Informatics in South Africa.

The description and discussion is based on the experiences of the staff delivering the course, and formal and informal evaluations, the former conducted as part of the University of Winchester's quality assurance processes.

Some of the lessons learned from adapting the course to meet local needs are described and discussed.

Simply attempting to transpose a successful course from one country and culture to another is not a guarantee of success. Educational staff delivering such courses need to take account of local context and culture, be flexible and prepared to adapt to students' needs and circumstances, which may be beyond anyone's control. However, by meeting real identified needs, success can contribute to sustaining capacity building and the development of the local health informatics workforce.