Category: Courses

Opportunities from the Clinical Academic Training Office (CATO)

Researcher Development Course

This course, taught in two modules, provides an excellent grounding of the critical underpinning skills required to perform high-quality research.

  • Course dates: Module 1: 11 – 12 March 2019 / Module 2: 13 – 14 June 2019 at Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus
  • Target audience: designed specifically for healthcare professionals outside of medicine

Further Course information

There are a limited number of FREE bursary places available for Imperial College London staff in healthcare professions outside of medicine to cover the course fee. Contact the CATO Team for further bursary details.

 

CATO Masterclass

Revolutions in public health research and how to access UK Biobank data: An update for all Clinical Academics

  • Course date: The next Imperial CATO masterclass is on January 24 2019, 18:00hrs, at the Royal Marsden Hospital (Julian Bloom Lecture Theatre).
  • Course content: The focus will be on how clinical academics might use the increasing wealth of population and NHS data (including UK Biobank) in research studies, or work with epidemiologists and others in exploring research questions using their data and skills.
  • Target audience: This will be particular interest to those of you who are not public health researchers to learn about how you could potentially work with such academics, and learn what they are currently doing, and how to access data such as UK Biobank.
  • Speakers: this will include Dr Ioanna Tzoulaki, Reader in Epidemiology, who uses UK Biobank data to explore genetic associations of inflammatory biomarkers (amongst others).

Please complete the online form to book your place.

Opportunities from the Clinical Academic Training Office (CATO)

Wellcome Trust/NIHR Imperial BRC/ICCIS clinical research fellowships 2019

‘4i’ programme, Immunity, Inflammation, Infection and Informatics

  • Applications are invited from exceptional medical graduates who demonstrate a commitment to a research career and aspire to become the next generation of clinical academic leaders to join our prestigious PhD Fellowship Programmes.  Successful candidates will be selected on the basis of academic potential to reach the highest standards of scientific research, regardless of clinical specialty.
  • The Fellowships will be full-time and fixed term for three years. The funding covers clinical salary, PhD registration fees at the UK/EU rate, College fees, associated project costs and general training costs.

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Applications open for Calibre Leadership Programme

Do you consider yourself to be disabled? Do you face extra challenges at work?

Find out more about the Calibre leadership development programme for disabled staff by coming along to one of the taster sessions being held in November and December. The Calibre programme is delivered by Dr Ossie Stuart, an international disability consultant and academic, alongside the College’s Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Centre. This is a great course which staff with disabilities are encouraged to attend. The new course starts in January 2018. Registration for the Calibre Taster Sessions is via ICIS My Training.

Find out more (more…)

CRISH: Co-Creating Innovative Solutions for Health

Co-Creating Innovative Solutions for Healthcare (CRISH) is a free EIT Health short course for which there is a London edition on 21 and 22 November 2017.  The course aims to teach multidisciplinary healthcare team members eg. clinician/ nurse/ AHP/ manager/ researcher/ patient to co-create solutions for healthcare together (these can cover service provision, research, device or other innovation development). The idea is that up to 3 different types of stakeholders from the same team (or subject area) would come to the course together (preferably with a patient/member of the public) and work on their real-life project. Individuals (who are not in a team) may also apply to attend and it may be possible to group them with others depending on their area of interest, however, preference will be given to those who apply as a group.

Further details are found in the CRISH brochure and also the link to the website where people can apply.

Please circulate this opportunity to those you think may be interested and get in touch with Maria Piggin if you have any questions.

 

Writing well for the web

People tend to read a web page differently than they do on paper. This means that the best approach when writing for the web is different from writing for print. A website works best if people can find what they need quickly, complete their task and leave without having to think about it too much.

Writing for the webThe guidance on writing for Imperial’s website is based on research into how people read online and how people use the website. You can access this guidance as an online web skills module or through one of the monthly training sessions run by the College.

Upcoming sessions

  • Thursday 22 June (10:00-13:00)
  • Tuesday 18 July 2017 (10:00-13:00)

To book a place on a session, email News and Digital Content Editor Andrew Youngson

WHO Collaborating Centre for Public Health Education and Training update

Geneva trip 2017

Like every year, WHO Collaborating Centre is organising a trip for MPH students to WHO Headquarters in Geneva. The trip also includes visits to the Global Fund, the IRC, MSF and the UN.

During the intensive three days, students will attend engaging and interactive talks led by experts in major public health fields such as health systems and innovation, evidence-informed policy, or health systems financing. They will also be given an informative insight into the jobs and internships recruitment processes within the WHO. The trip includes social activities such as dinners and walks around the city. (more…)

Applications now open for MSc in Patient Safety

The NIHR Imperial Patient Safety Translational Research Centre is excited to announce that the portal is now open for all interested in applying to the MSc in Patient Safety. The Patient Safety programme is designed for healthcare professionals, both medical and managerial, to provide a basis of the fundamentals of patient safety practices. Please check our website for further information or contact our administrator at patient.safetymsc@imperial.ac.uk.

Hands-on LC-MS for Metabolic Phenotyping course

Date: 13 – 17 March 2017

Location: Imperial College London, South Kensington, London, UK

Description:

This week long course aims to cover how to perform a metabolic profiling experiment, from start to finish. It covers study design, sample preparation, the use of mass spectrometry for global profiling and targeted methodologies and data analysis.

It combines lectures and tutorial sessions to ensure a thorough understanding of the theory and practical applications. Topics covered include:

  • Targeted and untargeted sample preparation
  • Targeted and untargeted data analysis
  • Statistics and OPLS

http://www.imperial.ac.uk/imperial-international-phenome-training-centre/courses/hands-on-lc-ms-for-metabolic-profiling/

or contact Dr Liz Want (iptc@imperial.ac.uk) for further information.

Coding for Medics short course


Applications are now open for the Coding for Medics Short Course, a two-day course which will run on Saturday 4 March and Sunday 5 March 2017.

This course is aimed at medical students and professionals who see the value in developing their understanding of computer programming. There is no need for any previous experience in this area, so all you will need is a laptop and an eagerness to learn!

For more information, please see the website.

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Upcoming events from the Symposium Office

Neonatal update

The Symposium Office will be running 7 short courses and meetings in the Autumn with updates for paediatricians, obstetricians and gynaecologists, GPs, anaesthetists – both consultants and trainees.   Full details can be found on http://symposia.org.uk

Book now for the Neonatal Update 2016: “The Science of Newborn Care” running from 28 November – 2 December. This meeting has developed an international reputation for delivering a novel and fascinating programme of current best practice and the latest research findings – giving you a glimpse of the future of neonatal care.

http://www.symposia.org.uk/neonatal

Looking further ahead, Expert Fetal Medicine on 2 and 3 March 2017 is offering an early bird discount until 15 October 2016.  This meeting presents a unique opportunity to hear about the latest developments in the field of fetal medicine, as well as providing a forum to discuss current controversies and to debate the future developments expected in the next few year.

http://www.symposia.org.uk/ExpertFetalMedicine

Martin Gozdzik
Department of Surgery and Cancer

New ‘Mastering Laboratory Skills’ short course

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The Department of Medicine is pleased to announce the launch of its brand new short course Mastering Laboratory Skills. The course devised by Teaching Fellow Wayne Mitchell and MSc Immunology Course Director Sophie Rutschmann provides a unique opportunity to train and learn essential molecular and cellular biological laboratory techniques in our world class teaching facilities.

The course is aimed at students who are completing or have recently completed an undergraduate or postgraduate degree, at medical staff wishing to undertake scientific research or at those wishing to acquire/strengthen their lab skills. The short course combines a high quality theory-based online element with two weeks of intense laboratory work to execute these essential and current molecular and cellular biology techniques. In addition, data analysis sessions will allow participants to critically examine their results and discuss troubleshooting aspects of the work.

Course Director Wayne Mitchell states “The benefits of attending this course are that it combines both theoretical with practical elements of modern molecular biological techniques. It’s one thing to view a procedure in an online tutorial or be given a protocol but it’s totally different to experience the technique first hand with expert instruction. The beauty of our course is that it combines the theory and practice in an environment that fosters good learning.”

Talking about the overall objectives of the course, Sophie Rutschmann adds: “It doesn’t matter what your current level is, the objective is to ensure that you learn the correct skills to successfully undertake scientific research. We are here to help you reach the next level!”

Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis but will close on 31 July 2016.

The online component of the course will launch 1st August 2016 for enrolled students, with the practical element taking place 5 – 16 September. Students have the option of assessment and those who achieve an overall pass with be awarded 7.5 ECTS.

For more information on the course please visit www.imperial.ac.uk/medicine/masteringlaboratory-skills

Celeste Miles
Course Administrator
Department of Medicine

IGHI update

IGHIPassed events

General news

Get involved

Jo Seed
Communications Manager
Institute of Global Health Innovation

College-wide access to lynda.com

I am writing to you to let you know about College access to lynda.com, a high quality video training site for IT, business skills and general interests which may be of interest to your Faculty. The College has purchased a one year license for all College staff, renewable depending on take-up.

What is lynda.com?

lynda.comlynda.com provides a vast online library of instructional videos covering the latest software, creative, and business skills. Taught by accomplished teachers and recognised industry experts, lynda.com is a high-quality resource for Students and Staff looking to develop skills in Microsoft Office, the Adobe Creative Suite, Project Management, Personal Development, Social Media and a wide range of other topics. With more than 3,000 courses and more added every week, lynda.com is designed for all learning abilities and is available whenever you’re ready to learn. You can even view it on your iPhone, iPad, Android phone or tablet, or other mobile device.

Access

Access is via College user accounts for both staff and students. If you already have a lynda.com account, you can merge this with your College account.
Go to lynda.com via the ICT website for more information on the service and to provide feedback.

Support

lynda.com have offered to provide sessions on the product if you or your colleagues would like to understand more about it and how it can be used. If you would like more information please contact me at e.pengelly@imperial.ac.uk. If you have any concerns or problems with usage or access, please contact the ICT Service Desk.

Dr Ellen Pengelly
Digital Business Partner – Faculty of Medicine
Service Strategy & Planning
Information & Communications Technology

London Advanced TB Course – 26-27 November 2015

London Advanced TB CourseThis popular course will offer a comprehensive update on all aspects of the management of TB provided by the UK’s leading TB experts.

The course will be of interest to all grades of doctors including consultants, specialist registrars in respiratory medicine or infectious diseases, general practitioners, public health physicians, TB nurses and other non-medical health professionals working in TB.

Highlights include:  Speakers include:
  • Interactive workshops
  • MDR TB evening symposium
  • Diagnostics updates
  • Management Updates
  • Tackling complex cases
  • Incident management
  • Paediatrics and HIV aspects
  • Onn Min Kon
  • Deepti Kumar
  • Graham Bothamley
  • Peter Davies
  • Francis Drobniewski
  • Marc Lipman
  • Peter Ormerod
  • Lucy Thomas
  • Domink Zenner
  • Philipp du Cros
  • Martin Dedicoat

“An excellent, enjoyable and thorough course”

“Exceeded expectations – I don’t know where I would have learned this otherwise!QR

“Thank you for an excellent 2 days, the quality and quantity of the subjects/speakers has been very good”

For further information and to register visit www.imperial.ac.uk/nhli/london_tb

Follow @LondonTB on Twitter
CPD accreditation sought

WHO Collaborating Centre for Public Health Education and Training – June update

The Visit to Jabir Ibn Hayyan University in Najaf, Iraq

Professor Ali Mahmood Al-Shimmeri, the President of Jabir ibn Hayyan welcomed Professor Salman Rawaf, Director of P WHO Collaborating Centre for public Health Education and Training, Imperial College London on Wednesday 1st of April, 2015 at Jabir Ibn Hayyan University.

Jabir ibn Hayyan Medical University is one of the first specialized Universities in Najaf, Iraq. It encompasses all kinds of medical sciences. The Faculty of Medicine was established at the beginning of the academic year 2013-2014 involving 86 students who were centrally admitted, transferred or hosted from other universities. It is planned for the University to involve four faculties: Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Nursing in addition to a large university hospital and many other medical and research centres in various fields of medicine. The aim of the visit was to discuss the Hopeful Role of the Imperial College in Reviewing and Upgrading the Curriculum of the Faculty of Medicine to Meet the Highest Quality Standards. Professor Rawaf pledged to help and promised to exert his faithful efforts in order to achieve this mission.

 

First Who Ministerial Conference On Global Action Against Dementia

who dementiaOn 16 and 17 March 2015, WHO was hosting its first Ministerial Conference on Global Action Against Dementia. Ministers from around the world, as well as experts from the research, clinical and NGO communities, came together in Geneva for the first time to discuss the global problems posed by dementia.

The aim of the conference was to raise awareness of the socio-economic burden created by dementia, and to highlight that this burden can be reduced if the world collectively commits to placing dementia high on the global public health agenda.

The first day of the conference covered issues from research and drug regulation to care and human rights. On the second day, ministers discussed how to collectively move the global dementia agenda forward.

The conference was supported by the Department of Health of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The full meeting was webcast in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

 

Celebrating Primary Care Achievements: Seeing the person behind the patient

Imperial College London and the International College of Person-Centred Medicine are pleased to announce the 1st International Conference of Primary Care and Public Health to celebrate Primary Care and Public Health Achievements.

Baroness Ilora Finlay, Baroness Sheila Hollins and Sir Al Aynsley Green are amongst the World and UK leaders in Primary Care and Public Health who will be leading the conference.

The five central themes are: Primary Care in the 21st Century, Ageing and Ageism, Children and Adolescents, Integrated Care, and Public Health in Primary Care. Discussions will cut across the four major disciplines of education, training, research and clinical practice.

The conference will be held at Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, from 29 to 31 October 2015.

Tickets can be purchased through our website and abstracts can be submitted by July 1 by emailing g.greenfield@imperial.ac.uk

Register here

Please visit the conference website for more information

 

RCGP Global Health Family Medicine: Global Impact Conference London

RCGP Global Health Family Medicine Global Impact Conference London

Professor Salman Rawaf, Director of Who Collaborating Centre for Public Health Education and Training gave a presentation at the Conference organised by the Royal College of General Practitioners. The presentation: “A family physician for every person in the world: why we are failing globally” stressed that after thirty years of Alma Ata, the WHO World Health Report: Primary care – now more than ever, in 2008 re-focused the attention on the need of developing and strengthening primary care around the world. However, achievements since then are limited to patchy examples.

The talk also addressed the question why countries are reluctant or unable to develop their health system through primary care where every citizen has access to fully trained doctors who take care of health and healthcare needs. The number of trained family physicians needed in one of the WHO regions is projected to illustrate the magnitude of the tasks involved in developing primary care services that achieve the goal of universal health coverage. Guidance and suggestions for policy and decision-makers, health professionals, and civil society institutions will be offered, with the aim of maintaining and improving health to the highest of standards through effective primary care services.

 

Palestinian Family Medicine Visit to UK

The Department of Primary Care and Public Health (PCPH) at Imperial College London recently hosted a Palestinian Family Medicine delegation during their 4-day visit to the UK (4-8th March 2015). The visit was organised by the International Development of Family Medicine in Palestine (IDFMP), which is a collaborative initiative by UK GP academics. The aim of the visit was to orientate delegates to UK general practice and participate in the first RCGP Global Health ‘Family medicine: global impact’ conference in order to foster the development of a shared vision of family medicine training in Palestine. The delegates met Professor Salman Rawaf, Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Public Health Education and Training and there was lively discussion about shaping and developing family medicine in Palestine.

               

WHO CC work showcase at the Urology department educational seminar, 13 May 2015

At the request of Dr Alexandra Zachou — consultant urologist Imperial College Trust, Dr Sondus Hassounah, delivered a presentation at the Urology Department afternoon educational seminar showcasing the work the WHO CC undertakes. The presentation provided a brief overview of how the WHO CC was established and highlighted some of the projects the centre has been involved in since its designation by the WHO, with the support of the British Government, in 2007. The request to deliver this session stemmed from the urology departments’ interest in global health work and keenness to expose their faculty, staff and students to the broad application of public health and health system strengthening in a global context.

 

Systematic Literature Review Course

Systematic Literature Review Course

On Thursday 30th April 2015, our PhD students and fellows attended a one-day course on Systematic Reviews, given by Dr Holger Kunz. Through highly interactive and practical sessions, they learnt about why systematic literature reviews are so important in Public Health, how to develop a research question and a protocol, and the steps in conducting a systematic review – from literature search to selection of studies, quality appraisal, data extraction, meta-analysis and textual synthesis.

 

MPH student presentation at the Chevening Conference

Chevening ConferenceWhat is the link between Ebola outbreaks and Health Systems?

This is a question which needs to be asked in order to understand how this virus came to find its way around the globe in a matter of months. This topic must be scrutinised and assessed to help draft future recommendations for bridging current gaps in the health systems of vulnerable countries and eliminate the emergence of future outbreaks.

Dr. Haitham Shoman, who is studying his Master’s in Public Health at Imperial College London, prepared a poster on this subject and presented an overview at the Chevening Conference in Durham University on Diplomacy in the 21st Century that took place in Durham on the April 17th 2015. This was a fantastic opportunity to present such a cutting edge topic and educate high profile delegates, particularly those from non-medical backgrounds. His presentation drew a great deal of interest and questions from different participants. Support was given from Imperial College WHO CC. The dissertation he will be carrying out this summer, to be supervised by Professor Salman Rawaf, is centred on finding the link and grasping the roots of the problem, assessing information from a wide range of sources and reaching conclusions on how to mitigate such problems. A particular sense of urgency surrounds the spread of such diseases due to their potential to perpetuate poor health, poverty and inequality in some of the world’s most deprived countries. Living in the 21st century with globalisation and increased connectivity, countries with weak health systems should not be left behind as health is a fundamental human right and not exclusive to those living in the developed world. Strong health systems need to be established with proper communication and partnerships to avoid the progress of Ebola and avoid the emergence of new outbreaks.

 

Ela Augustyniak
WHO Collaborating Centre

Anatomy in Year 1 and 2 MBBS/BSc

living anatomy1It has been a busy summer for the Anatomy Department as the 13th floor Anatomy skills lab has been re-fashioned to allow its partition into clinical cubicles to simulate a clinical environment. We are grateful to everyone who contributed to make this happen such a short space of time. Amazingly we managed to finish the job by the start of term. The length of both DR and Living Anatomy practicals have also been increased this year to allow more time for assimilation of material. We look forward to the students feedback on these improvements.
We are also making an iPad version of the course handbooks available with colour illustrations to download, for those students who have their own iPads.The changes to the skills lab will also benefit the GE 1 students.

living anatomy2living anatomy3living anatomy4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Professor Mary Morrell
Sleep & Respiratory Physiology
Faculty of Medicine

WHOCC members participated in a leadership and health management training in Nairobi

On the 13th of September, members of the WHO Collaborating Centre left to Nairobi, Kenya to conduct a one-week course on Leadership and Health Management. The training, held in partnership with UNICEF Somalia Country Office, targeted high-level health officials of the Somali Ministry of Health, as well as WHO and UNICEF country officials.

The WHOCC leadership training aims to provide current national, regional and local leaders and decision makers the necessary management and leadership skills to cope with every day as well as crisis situations. By becoming better leaders, health officials will be able to contribute to the improvement of the Somali health system and to provide more effective services to the population.

Throughout the course and by means of very hands-on exercises, participants developed leadership skills such as delegation, team work, or evidence-based decision making. Each day was dedicated to a specific area of health management: from leadership skills to quality of care, management in health, policy and strategy, and governance. After receiving their certificates, participants returned to Somalia, with the skills and tools to inspire and influence those around them.

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The School of Medicine Mobile Medical Education Pilot Project

The School issued iPads Mini to students in years 5 and 6 of the MBBS course at the beginning of the 2013/14 academic term.

iPad_newsletter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The key implementations introduced as part of the pilot have focused on the following areas:

iBooks

iBooks have been developed in order to standardise the delivery of course related materials for the different clinical attachments. Once the iBooks are downloaded on the iPads, they can be accessed offline. The iBooks offer a range of interactions designed by academics to make the learning experience more engaging for students. The image below shows some of the iBooks developed for years 5 and 6.

iPad_books_images_cropped

Students can download the iBooks via the Mobile Device Management System (MDM): AirWatch Secure Content Locker provided by ICT.

Overall, the feedback received from academics and students has been very positive. They like the fact the iBooks can be accessed off-line and they provide a lot of engaging interactions.

The iBooks developed can be accessed via the iPad Project Organisation in Blackboard: http://bit.ly/1rlBKXF

Electronic submissions and signoffs

iPad_lectureElectronic submissions and signoffs have been piloted using the eForms iPad App. It allows submissions of assessments (end of attachment, DOPS, etc.) via student iPads.  The system allows clinicians to electronically sign forms online/offline and to receive an electronic copy of the submissions via email. Students also receive confirmation via email and administrators can track submissions online.

SharePoint has also been piloted for electronic submissions in years 3, 5 and 6 to accommodate open-ended questions requiring formatting as well as submitting attachments (PDF, Word documents, etc.).

In total, over 100 electronic submissions have been introduced in years 5 & 6. Feedback so far has been positive although some students have expressed preference for paper based submissions.

iCalendars

iCalendars have also been deployed for some clinical attachments (nearly 100 iCalendars), allowing students to access their calendars/timetables on their iPads and/or smartphones. Due to the positive feedback received from students on the use of iCalendars, the School has decided to implement iCalendars for all clinical attachments from January 2015.

Other Apps

We have also received positive feedback on the use of virtual clickers especially during the Pathology course. The students have also been very receptive to the use of the BMJ Best Practice App provided by the library.

The work done so far on the Mobile Medical Education Pilot Project provides evidence of the benefits in the provision of electronic submissions, iCalendars and the distribution of course and learning related materials on the students’ devices via iBooks. The digitisation of clinical related assessments (e-forms) provides a more efficient and robust mechanism to audit assessment submissions during attachments.

A Working Group will be setup to evaluate the iPad pilot and make recommendations to the School on the way forward in relation to the School’s Mobile Learning Strategy. The recommendations will be made available by February 2015.

A CPD course: ‘Creating Mobile Medical Education: Successful Implementation in Practice’ has been setup based on the experience gained during this project at the School. All the implementations carried out as part of this project will be demonstrated during the course.

Guest speakers from Manchester and Leeds Medical Schools will also present their latest developments on Mobile Medical Education. For further information about the course please visit: http://bit.ly/1AR24tQ

For further information contact us at: elearning.medicine@imperial.ac.uk

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Dr Maria Toro-Troconis
E-Learning Strategy and Development Manager
Faculty of Medicine

14 Faculty of Medicine Master’s Scholarships available

The Faculty of Medicine is offering generous scholarships to students with outstanding academic potential who apply in 2014 for one of the 30 Master’s courses run by its Schools, Institutes and Departments.

There are 4 Dean’s Master’s Scholarships available (full fees plus £17.5K flexible stipend), 2 for Home/EU and 2 for Overseas students, and 10 Faculty Master’s Scholarships (£17.5K flexible stipend), open to both Home/EU and overseas students.  Application is via an online form and the deadline is 31 March 2014.

Please advertise these widely to attract the best students to our courses. Posters such as those below (plus more styles) are available for download.  These can be printed for display in your location and/or sent via e-mail to prospective applicants or contacts in other universities (and overseas) who would be willing to circulate the information to their life science/medicine undergraduates.

If you have any queries about the Scholarships or Master’s courses, please contact Jim Osborne

posters

 

School of Medicine reorganisation and new Head of Undergraduate School of Medicine

The School of Medicine has recently been reorganised – adopting a new structure to establish clearer leadership and strengthen links with academic departments and the NHS.

Martin LuptonMr Martin Lupton (previously one of the Deputy Directors of Education) has been appointed as Head of Undergraduate School of Medicine. Martin took some time to speak to us about his new role, what the reorganisation means for medical students and how he believes the university education experience will evolve in the coming years.

Q: Congratulations on your appointment as the Head of Undergraduate School of Medicine. Can you describe this new role, as well as your main aims and objectives?

Thank you. I think the best way to describe this new role is as a facilitator and communicator. As the Chair of the School Board, my primary responsibilities are to facilitate the new leadership team in their work to improve the quality of our educational offering and to ensure that at every level the School listens to and is responsive to its students and staff (both those in our academic departments and in NHS settings).

Q: The School of Medicine has recently been reorganised with a new structure. How will these changes provide benefits to the educational offering and student experience?

Imperial College School of Medicine is a great and very large organisation, requiring collaboration across North West London. To ensure that the School can build on its success at a time of enormous change both in the University sector and the NHS, we have developed a new structure. The new structure will allow us to concentrate on the twin challenges of strategy and delivery.

Q: Which aspects of the role are you most looking forward to, and what do you envisage your greatest challenges to be?

The aspect of the role I most look forward to is also the greatest challenge.  The changes in the NHS are going to require significant parallel changes in our curriculum.  This is undoubtedly going to be difficult to achieve, but provides us with amazing opportunities to refresh and improve the content of our course.

Q: With the rise of online learning and social media, how do you think the higher education experience will change at Imperial over the coming years?

Imperial College Medical School is in a state of permanent evolution. We have already introduced iPads to the senior clinical years and have been developing high quality learning materials to populate an information spine that runs in parallel with our curriculum map. I think that in time more of the factual content of our course will be delivered through on line learning, which will be fantastic as it will allow us to use our human resource to concentrate on the ancient and unchanging need for apprenticeship and interaction in clinical medicine. The new and the old will work with increasing synergy.

Q: What do you see as the greatest benefits and opportunities for medical students studying at Imperial?

Where to begin? The two outstanding opportunities for our students are science and medical excellence. Imperial is a world class scientific institution and our students have a unique opportunity to be exposed to medical science in its evolution, from bench to bedside. Furthermore the Academic Health Partnership gathers together a stable of some of the most famous hospitals in the world, which care for probably the most diverse population in the world, in arguably the greatest city in the world and our students study in this environment! Why would you want to go anywhere else?

8th UK and Ireland Occupational & Environmental Epidemiology Meeting

Thursday 3 April 2014 – National Heart and Lung Institute (Imperial College), London SW3

Course description

Suitable for those with research interests in occupational and environmental epidemiology.  Early career researchers are particularly welcome.  Held each year from 2005, the aim is to enable cross-fertilization of research interests between those with an interest in occupational and environmental epidemiology.  Various topics are examined in a fairly informal environment, and encourage discussion and collaborative networking.

Registration details

Registration fee: £50; rising to £75 after ‘early bird’ closes on Friday 21 February (midnight).

Registration link Online Registration Form.  This form and the provisional programme, registration/abstract submission details, including the submission form, are accessed via our website: http://lungsatwork.org.uk/courses.php . Please complete and save the abstract submission form to your PC, and then e-mail it to Magda Wheatley at m.wheatley@imperial.ac.uk.

Keynote speakers

  • Mr Robie Kamanyire, Public Health England, will speak on the subject of shale gas extraction (also known as ‘fracking’).
  • Dr Ruth Travis, University of Oxford, Cancer Epidemiology Unit, will speak on the subject of shift work.
  • Dr Martie van Tongeren, Institute of Occupational Medicine, Edinburgh, will speak nanotechnology.

We are very grateful for the support of Public Health England and the MRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health, and for the Colt Foundation’s endorsement of this meeting.

Magda Wheatley
Departmental Administrator
Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine – National Heart & Lung Institute