School of Health & Medicine

Key challenges: obstacles and actions

Presentation to APCJanuary 13th 2010

Professor Tony GatrellDean

Preamble (1)

Strategic Plan identifies SHM as a ‘transformational project’

‘obstacles’, yes, but more appropriate to construct some as ‘issues’ to be addressed, or opportunities to be grasped, in context of economic downturn and activities of other stakeholders

Preamble (2)

School structure: Four ‘Divisions’:

• Biomedical & Life Sciences• Health Research• Medicine• Centre for Training & Development (CETAD)

‘Obstacles’: sustainable internationalisation

1. Historical development, and profile of existing academic staff

2. Current portfolio of taught postgraduate programmes

3. Lack of studentships for overseas postgraduates

4. Constraints on developing undergraduate medicine

Actions: sustainable internationalisation (R)

• Developments in parasitology and the epidemiology of tropical disease (leishmaniasis – insect vector-borne)

Also meningitis, leptospirosis, eye-worm:

Actions: sustainable internationalisation (T)

• International Doctorate in Palliative Care• MSc in Biotechnology & Leadership• possible MSc in Environment and Global (public) Health• further links with University of Ghana Medical School (Wellcome Trust MSc training grant)

• possible recruitment of overseas medical students

School of Health & Medicine

mapping overseas relationships

Overseas Links

‘Obstacles’: increasing research excellence

• Nature of funding environment and NHS orientation of much of our work (NIHR, also charities...)

• Culture and ‘mindset’ of some academic staff

• Location with respect to M62 corridor (Liverpool-Manchester axis)

• Lack of pump-priming/studentships

Actions: increasing research excellence

• NIHR and other NHS funding streams significant, also links to, and support from, NHS Trusts and new knowledge exchange (HEIF) activity

• Encouraging all staff in research groups to maximise funding applications

•External links in biotechnology via RDA and pharma/biotech sectors, plus strategic alliances with Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle

‘Obstacles’: engagement with students

• Distinctive needs of delivering undergraduate medicine

• Investment in equipment for teaching

• Valuing of teaching in a research-led University

• Relative ‘neglect’ of part-time, work-based students

• Dispersion of School across six areas of campus does not help identity

Actions: engagement with students

• Need for clearer, sympathetic understanding of requirements of undergraduate medicine

• Need for attention to under-investment

• Recognition of outstanding teachers

• Resolution of refurbishment project (no longer new build) after 16 months of discussions

‘Obstacles’: engagement with staff

• Economic environment and impact on NHS

• Difficulties of recruiting, and engaging with, clinical academic staff

• Retirements of some well-known academic staff

• Proportion of payroll devoted to academic and ‘non-academic’ staff: growth in Medicine and BLS will require both

• Career progression for ‘academic-related’ and administrative staff

Actions: engagement with staff

• Alliances with other HEIs?

• Current review of strategy on undergraduate medical education – balance between research and teaching (and clinical activity)

• Planning for retirement....

• On-going assessment of need for technical and administrative support

• Career progression for ‘non-academic’ staff is a University-wide issue

A bigger vision?

• There are two large Medical Schools in Liverpool & Manchester to south, Glasgow & Edinburgh to north; nothing between• NHS North West sees Lancaster as apex in NW triangle• Chance to develop something new and distinctive in city of Lancaster, ideally multi-professional• Research niches (very focused) would build on existing strengths

A bigger vision?

• Now that would be ‘transformational’

• but it requires high-level support regionally and nationally and is deeply political

• and it will take time….but we have made a start in the first 16 months