Experiential Learning
Aspen Ideas Festival
Coined, “Not Your Average Health Conference” by the Aspen Institute, Aspen Ideas: Health brings together a diverse group of experts from health care, public health, policy, climate, technology, business, and the arts to tackle pressing health challenges and opportunities.
The goal is to inspire and accelerate innovative solutions for better health for all, shaping the future of health, medicine, and science. All first-year UNMC Scott Scholars traveled to the Aspen Institute’s scenic Colorado campus for the 2024 experience, where they were immersed in deep conversation and had a front row seat as the latest innovations were unveiled. Highlights included sessions on artificial intelligence, climate change, the intersection of science and faith, and dismantling racism in health care.
To learn more about the Aspen Institute and the Health program, please visit Aspen Ideas: Health
Student testimony – Roshan Sapkota
Attending the Aspen Ideas Festival was truly transformative. Beyond the stunning natural beauty of Aspen itself—which I was fortunate to explore with my fellow Scott Scholars through biking, hiking, and discovering the local food scene—the festival offered an incredible breadth of thought-provoking content. I attended sessions ranging from innovative approaches to health literacy through hip hop, to Dr. Jay Bhattacharya's perspectives on restructuring NIH funding, to AI leaders discussing the future of health care.
What made this experience particularly valuable was how it directly influenced my work on Auxillo, my AI health care startup. Through the presentations and meaningful connections I made—including Google's Chief Health Officer—I gained clarity on the next steps for my startup. I'm still actively collaborating with contacts from Aspen, and the trip even led to conversations with potential investors. The combination of intellectual stimulation, natural beauty, and the camaraderie of experiencing it all with my Scott Scholar cohort made Aspen an unforgettable highlight of my year. passions of its future providers.
Scott Supper Series
The Scott Supper Series is a student-led, informal learning experience where Scott Scholars at UNMC gather over a shared meal to explore current and meaningful topics in health care. Students pair up to lead mini-seminars on issues they are passionate about—ranging from emerging medical technologies to health equity, policy reform, genetic information and patient privacy—creating space for thoughtful dialogue and peer learning. These sessions encourage students to engage deeply with complex challenges facing future physicians while building communication and leadership skills in a relaxed, collaborative environment.
This initiative reflects the experiential learning focus of the Walter Scott, Jr. Scholarship Program, which aims to develop innovative, empathetic physician leaders. By empowering students to teach and learn from one another, the Supper Series reinforces the program’s mission to cultivate critical thinking, design-minded problem solving, and community-centered leadership. It’s a meaningful way to connect the “why” of the program—advancing health care in Nebraska—with the lived experiences.
Scholars Connect
In April 2026, Scholars Connect: Spring 2026 brought students together for a day of peer-led learning and community building. Responding to student interest in learning from one another, the morning featured presentations on topics such as Step 1 and shelf exam preparation, research, and clinical success strategies, led by students across multiple cohorts.
Scholars Table
Scholars Table is a monthly breakfast series designed to connect our medical students with leaders across UNMC and Nebraska Medicine who are shaping the future of health care. We poll our students to see where their interests lie, reach out to those departments’ chairs, chiefs, residency coordinators and residents with invitations for them to discuss their areas of specialty, the culture of their departments, and pathways toward residency and professional development with our students.
Our goals are to build early, authentic relationships among high-performing medical students and our institutional leaders. We also aim to expose students to a range of specialties and residency programs through genuine dialogue. We want to help students understand what distinguishes top residency candidates in today’s pass/fail Step 1 environment and cultivate mentorship and a deeper sense of belonging within the UNMC community.