For both the mobility projects to Region 7 and Region 12, the planned mobilities built on formal agreements between RCSI and Qatar University (R7) and the University of Pittsburgh (R12) to develop joint PhD training programmes, with dual registration and dual award of degrees. The planned mobilities were to: a) Enable management staff mobilities to progress the development of the proposed joint PhD programmes (including organisation of a joint research symposium to identify synergies and develop co-supervised research projects) (b) Enable academic staff exchanges to develop teaching materials and to share expertise as well as development of the training curriculum for the joint PhD programmes (c) Enable administrative staff exchanges to ensure appropriate governance and oversight was in place for the proposed programme. For Region 9 mobilities, we aimed to create a practical, interactive research-methods short course tailored to global surgery priorities, to build research capacity in low-resource settings, bridge North–South student–faculty learning, and equip participants with applied skills in quantitative, qualitative and implementation science applicable to surgical systems research.