Tuesday, 13 August 2024
Experts at the University of Nottingham will lead a research training programme aimed at attracting those working in health, social care, and public health into research careers, thanks to £2.59 million of funding from the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR).
The bid for funding was led by Dr Claire Diver from the School of Health Sciences at the University of Nottingham, along with Dr Sally Ruane from Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at De Montfort University, Leicester, and Professor Emma Wilson from the School of Medicine at Nottingham.
Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) are working in partnership to offer research engagement activities for prospective and successful applicants.
The NIHR has funded universities across 12 regions in England, to a total of £33.2 million. The funding is part of the new INSIGHT: Inspiring Students into Research scheme. It aims to attract students in health, social care, and public health into the full range of research careers. This includes professions without much exposure to research during their professional training.
Dr Claire Diver, Associate Professor in Physiotherapy, is the NIHR East Midlands Programme Lead, and has more than 12 years’ experience strategically and operationally leading on and developing research training for non-medical healthcare professionals.
I am delighted to be leading on the strategic and operational delivery of NIHR INSIGHT in The East Midlands. This is a collaborative bid developed with regional partners and collaborators in education, health, social care and local authorities. This provides an exciting opportunity to inspire our new and recent graduates that work in these professions, to provide the skills to embed research in all aspects of their careers and ultimately improve health and care outcomes for populations in the East Midlands."
The programme in the East Midlands has two main aims:
- To show students training in these professions, and those recently graduated, what opportunities there are for them to use research in their jobs, and to think about opportunities for jobs that involve research. The team will work collaboratively with regional partners and collaborators to offer a range of opportunities to network and gain experience in research active environments from research development to delivery and dissemination/implementation.
- To provide training in research for these professional groups so they can have the knowledge and skills to understand and do research that will help the people they work with and services they work in. This will be delivered through fully funded masters’ training.
Dr Sally Ruane, Reader in Social Policy at De Montfort University, said: “We are delighted to be working with colleagues at the University of Nottingham and other partners in a scheme which provides such important opportunities to early career professionals. We want to adopt an inclusive approach which succeeds in recruiting students from a diverse range of professional groups.”
Professor Waljit Dhillo, Dean of the NIHR Academy, said: “We know how important early exposure to research is for building capacity within health and social care. The INSIGHT programme will offer over 300 funded research masters places per year and provide engagement activities that have the potential to excite and capture the imagination of students at an early stage in their career. I’m delighted that we’ll be able to show students all the benefits that research roles and careers have, both for professionals and within health and care.”
Dr Louise Bramley, Assistant Director of Nursing for Research, Innovation and Transformation at NUH, said: “Health and care students and early career staff are the future of our research, so at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, we are delighted to be partnering with the University of Nottingham and De Montfort University to be providing fresh opportunities to attract people into research careers, and to be able to provide masters level training for those who are new to and passionate about research.
“This is a significant funding programme over three years, which will provide many exciting opportunities to benefit students and those who are in the early part of their career across the East Midlands region.”
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About NIHR
The mission of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. We do this by:
- Funding high quality, timely research that benefits the NHS, public health and social care;
- Investing in world-class expertise, facilities and a skilled delivery workforce to translate discoveries into improved treatments and services;
- Partnering with patients, service users, carers and communities, improving the relevance, quality and impact of our research;
- Attracting, training and supporting the best researchers to tackle complex health and social care challenges;
- Collaborating with other public funders, charities and industry to help shape a cohesive and globally competitive research system;
- Funding applied global health research and training to meet the needs of the poorest people in low and middle income countries.
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NIHR is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care. Its work in low and middle income countries is principally funded through UK international development funding from the UK government.
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About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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