The Department of Anthropology at the University of Hyderabad is organising an international workshop from November 09-13th 2026, as part of the “After the Single Use: Rethinking Plastics in Healthcare” project. This project is is funded by the Wellcome Trust, UK
Dr. Nanda Kishore Kannuri, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology is the country lead in India.
This workshop involves a global team of collaborators from eight countries: The University of Edinburgh (UK), University of New South Wales (Australia), University of Geneva (Switzerland), University of Oslo (Norway), National Institute of Medical Research (Tanzania), CRCF (Senegal), PNG Institute of Medical Research (Papua New Guinea), and Johns Hopkins University (USA), as well as key NGO partners Health Care Without Harm and the Norwegian Bioart Arena.
The inaugural event of this workshop was graced by the Honourable Vice-Chancellor, Prof. J. Anuradha, Prof K. Suneetha Rani, Dean, School of Social Science, Prof. Samrat L. Sabat, Director, R&D Cell, Prof. Shamanna, Associate Director, Office of the International Affairs, Prof. Apparao Thamminaina, Head, Department of Anthropology, Prof. Alice Street, Principal Investigator of the project, University of Edinburgh and Dr Nanda Kishore Kannuri, Coordinator of the workshop.
In the context of this inaugural event, Prof. J. Anuradha highlighted the importance of international collaborations and of generating useful interventions to address social issues beyond academic spaces. Prof. Sabat mentioned anecdotal examples of how the use of plastic carry bags became a trend in day-to-day life. Prof. Shamanna noted the relevance of healthcare and the circular economy around single-use plastics in healthcare. Prof. T. Apparao highlighted the significance of anthropological methods in addressing human problems. Prof. Alice Street underscored the complexity of the use of single-use plastics in the healthcare industry, spanning from production to disposal. Finally, Dr. Nanda Kishore Kannuri highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary approaches and multi-stakeholder involvement in rethinking the use of plastics in medical care.
Workshop Aims
This five-day workshop brings together our research team and partners for our second collaborative meeting, building on relationships, ideas, and shared commitments established in Edinburgh in May 2025. The workshop provides an opportunity to strengthen our research community, deepen collaborations across the project, and reflect on emerging insights and impact. The workshop creates space for us to develop and shape the next phase of the project as we enter into year three.
Core aims are to:
Develop our research community: strengthen the relationships, trust and shared values that underpin the project, creating time to reconnect, learn from one another, and sustain an inclusive and supportive collaborative environment.
Build connections and collaborations: share emerging findings, methods and experiences from each research site, identify common themes and opportunities for comparative analysis, plan cross-research unit visits, establish goals and ways of working for our research clusters, and develop collaborations across the team and with our partners.
Plan collaborative outputs: draw on identified connections and comparisons between specific research projects to develop concrete plans for collaborative writing and publication.
Discuss local, national, and international consultation, collaboration and impact: reflect on how our research can engage diverse audiences, inform policy and practice, and contribute to wider public conversations. Together, we will explore strategies for communicating our findings and maximising the project’s impact across different contexts and scales.
Over the next five days, this workshop aims to hold insightful discussions, build connections and foster future collaborations to tackle the complexities of single-use plastics in the health care industry.
For more information, please contact:
Dr. Nanda Kishore Kannuri, nandukannuri@uohyd.ac.in