Dricile Ratib
After studying for his MSc in Infectious Diseases at Edinburgh via online learning, Dr Dricile Ratib completed a PhD in Public Health and now splits his time lecturing and working for a humanitarian organisation.
Name | Dricile Ratib |
Degree |
MSc in Emerging and Neglected Infectious Diseases |
Year of graduation | 2013 |

At the moment
I’m currently a lecturer at a university and director of a humanitarian organisation.
Your time at the University
I joined the Master of Science in Infectious Diseases as result of the repeated threat of the disease outbreaks in my country Uganda so that I would become more knowledgeable to protect myself, my family, and the community against infectious diseases.
My time at the University was excellent as I managed to finish the course within the three years with excellent support from the course director and coordination with my colleagues. The summer schools in South-East Asia and Uganda provided additional lectures in key subjects in research and epidemiology.
Your experiences since leaving the University
Since I left the University, I worked with a humanitarian and research organisation and later upgraded to do a PhD in Public Health as result of the solid foundation on the course unit on public health in the developed and developing world.
Your Covid-19 experience
I’m participating in an awareness campaign to try to reach the most affected communities with the right psychosocial and public health messages.
The Covid-19 pandemic has hit my community hard like any other around the globe. Though there have been no deaths reported in Uganda, the threat remains and the suffering due to the extreme lockdown measures has no signs of easing. This in itself has limited access to Covid-19 information on the prevention measures, especially in the rural areas with poor mobile and road networks. I’m participating in an awareness campaign to try to reach the most affected communities with the right psychosocial and public health messages.
Alumni wisdom
During the Covid-19 pandemic, many communities are under lockdown, hence many may not think of studying abroad. There is a need for external collaboration with other universities and partnerships in the fight against Covid-19.
Related links
University of Edinburgh's Covid-19 response
Thinking of returning for further studies? The University of Edinburgh offers two tuition fee scholarship schemes for alumni of the University (exceptions apply).