Category: Faculty Education Office

A new vision from the FoM PG Education Team

The Faculty of Medicine’s Postgraduate Education Team has expanded over the last year and our remit has evolved.

Given this, we decided to take some time towards the end of last academic year to reflect on and agree our priorities and identify effective ways to deliver them. In so doing, we agreed a vision statement that we wanted to share with you at the start of our new academic year.

Our priorities for this academic year include the implementation of the curriculum review and a range of strategic activities including the introduction of a Faculty-wide shared project call and the development of an agreed mechanism to recognise the value of teaching. These, and all other projects, as well as the way we work, fall within our vision:

To maintain an outstanding learning experience for our students, through collaboration with FoM PG Medicine educators. To bring this about, we are committed to creating and sustaining an environment in which PG Medicine colleagues can develop their own tools and initiatives. Working together, our goal is to make student learning interactive, engaging and digitally enhanced.

To achieve our vision, the team:

  • facilitates and coordinates the efforts of teachers and support staff to create high-calibre learning experiences for students;
  • uses evidence as the foundation of the support we provide;
  • collaborates with all FoM PG colleagues in practical and pragmatic ways, with a focus on dialogue, solutions and staff fulfilment;
  • ensures that our support is accessible and adaptable
  • promotes innovation and efficiency as a means to transforming educational practice;
  • encourages initiative and reflection among the FoM PG community;
  • adopts a strategic approach to supporting the FoM PG teaching community.

The team comprises:

Sophie Rutschmann Academic Lead for Postgraduate Taught Programmes
Jeffrey Vernon Principal Teaching Fellow, Postgraduate Medicine

Dallas Alexandrou Project Manager: Attributes and Aspirations (AA) Short Course
Operations Manager: PG Education
Ania Jones Teaching Fellow, PG Medicine
Latha Ramakrishnan Teaching Fellow, PG Medicine
Katie Stripe Senior Learning Designer: Attributes and Aspirations (AA) Short course
Nousheen Tariq Postgraduate Education Manager
Gemma Williamson Postgraduate Education Officer
Meg Carter Summer School Administrator

Student Information Management Programme update

Invitation to attend a SIMP update for all Faculty of Medicine Staff

The Student Information Management Programme (SIMP) is a multi-year phased programme to implement a College-wide student information system that is underpinned by processes to support academic and student administration.

For students, this will ensure a consistently excellent experience when using College systems, irrespective of stage in the student lifecycle, year or programme of study.

For staff, this will ensure visibility of a modular level student study view in-year and in real-time to make decisions based on high quality and comprehensive information.

The new Banner system will reflect the College’s infrastructure, its programme and modular curriculum structure, its regulations and student activity to improve information sharing for both staff and students. A key aim is to establish the system as the single source of truth for student and curriculum data, providing a foundation for all information systems involving student data.

The transition to fully using Banner as a College-wide system will bring about changes in the way that student and curricula data is held, viewed and managed. Understanding the extent of reliance on local systems to manage data processing is key to successfully embedding the change to achieve a single source of truth.

SIMP Department Roadshows

To foster understanding and commitment for the planned phased outcomes you are invited to attend a SIMP Department Roadshows which has been arranged by the Faculty of Medicine for all staff.

The roadshows will give you an opportunity to meet with the Programme Sponsor, the SIMP Business Team and FoM Leadership and these events aim to provide an opportunity to update you on the programme and invite discussion on:

  1. Sponsorship for the vision, phased outcomes and benefits
  2. Objectives, timing and highlights of each of the multi-year phases
  3. Looking-back over 2019 in preparation for phase I go-live (January 2020)
  4. Looking-forward to achieving a successful phase II (January – September 2020).

Upcoming sessions

Three sessions have been arranged, at St Mary’s, South Kensington and Charing Cross Campuses.  The South Kensington session will be recorded for those staff unable to attend in person.

Date Time Campus Room options & capacity Comments
8 November 14.30 – 15.30 St Mary’s 65A&B
18 November 15.00 – 16.00 South Kensington SAFB 119 This session will be recorded.
27 November 15.00 – 17.00 Charing Cross CXRB R2&R3 booked

 

The Active Classroom: Do less work, have more fun

The MBBS curriculum review coincides with a college-wide review of all taught programmes – MBBS, BSc, MSc, MRes. The college is dedicating resources to a learning and teaching strategy, with buy-out of academics’ time to plan their reviews, grants for new teaching initiatives, a promise to reward good teachers in promotion rounds, a seminar series on approaches to teaching, curriculum review workshops, and a heightened status for the Education Development Unit as a centre for research into teaching and learning. There are ambitious plans to encourage the diffusion of learning technologies throughout our programmes.  For a research-based university, there is a surprising level of chatter about teaching, together with chances to influence (and be influenced by) the renewed emphasis on education.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, see the Learning and Teaching Strategy. (more…)

Faculty Education Office staff fundraising for charity supported through new MBBS module

A team from Medicine’s Faculty Education Office are raising money for the charity Days for Girls, supporting a team of MBBS students heading out to rural Nepal in May.

In 2016, the School of Medicine collaborated with the ICSM Students’ Union and charity Community Action Nepal, to produce ‘Imperial College Enables’, giving students the opportunity to experience healthcare systems entirely different to that of the UK.

The project grew in 2017, and from the work the students did on their visit to Nepal came a relationship with the charity Days for Girls, which supports young women around the world by distributing female hygiene kits and education materials about menstruation.

Many women in rural Nepal struggle to manage their periods, some using rags and many forced to stay indoors for the duration, and the level of education about menstruation is low.

During the students’ visit, word spread quickly between the rural communities, and many women walked many miles to a health post to collect a hygiene kit. The students soon ran out of the kits, which are colourful bags containing washable sanitary pads and underwear.

Each kit can last up to three years, and costs just £5.14 to produce. The kits are also sewn and put together in Nepal, offering the extra benefit of employment for local people.

In May 2018, students will return to the Nepalese health posts previously visited, as part of a new second-year MBBS module, Clinical Research and Innovation. The aim is to prepare these students with 1033 hygiene kits – the number of female students currently in the School of Medicine.

The FEO team spearheading the fundraising initiative alongside Head of MBBS Years 1 and 2, Professor Mary Morrell, are Jo Williams and Margaret Rodger, Programme Officers for MBBS Years 1 and 2; Hannah Pietruszewska, Education and Finance Officer; Labbie Farrell, Programme Assistant for MBBS Years 1 and 2; Emma Blyth, Instructional Designer; and Agata Sadza, Blended Learning Specialist. (more…)

FEO leadership team

As part of the restructuring of the FEO there has been a strengthening and simplifying of the leadership team, and there are now four senior managers reporting to me.  An overview of their areas of responsibility is outlined below:

Lisa Carrier – Head of Technology Enhanced Education

Lisa is currently the E-learning Manager for the Department of Medicine and will be joining us at the beginning of May.  Her team will support:
Development and support of technology and innovative teaching methods to enhance the delivery of education
Advising on and developing technical solutions to support the management of education
Liaison with SIDs to expand the use of technology to enhance postgraduate education
Audio Visual and Lab technical support
Timetabling and room booking

Rebekah Fletcher – Head of School of Medicine Secretariat

  • Rebekah’s team will support:
  • Quality and Governance (including forecasting and planning)
  • Projects and Systems (including Sofia, our curriculum map, Fry, the assessment system and the Student Information Management System (SIMP) and the student database)
  • Communications
  • Admissions
  • Welfare
  • Student finance (including bursaries, scholarships and welfare payments)

Chris Harris – Head of Programme Management

  • Chris’s team will support:
  • Curriculum and exams/assessment
  • Transition to foundation training
  • Careers
  • Student progression (including Fitness to Practice, discipline and mitigating circumstances)
  • Student records (including production of transcripts and documentation for graduates)
  • Electives (including funding)
  • Clinical Education Finance and planning (SIFT and HEFCE)

Paul Ratcliffe – Deputy Director of Education Management

  • Paul’s team will support:
  • LKC School of Medicine
  • Postgraduate, including the Health Sciences Academy
  • Medical Education Research Unit (MERU)
  • Major Educational innovations (including the new Medical Biosciences BSc)

We are in the final stages of consultation with FEO staff and the new support teams will be finalised and announced shortly.  During the transition period, there will continue to be management and administrative support across all areas.  Should you have any queries or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me or the relevant senior manager.

Miss Susan English
Director of Education Management and Programme Director
Faculty Education Office (Medicine)