LSTM has received a funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s (HEFCE) Catalyst Fund to develop its postgraduate and professional education offer to ensure that UK students become the future leaders in global health.
LSTM's Director of International Education and Knowledge Exchange, Michael Lurie who led on the development of the bid said: "This award underlines HEFCE's confidence in LSTM as a centre for excellence in post-graduate teaching, and I am delighted that we will be able to expand our teaching in line with our strategic plan. We took an evidence-based approach to our portfolio development, so that we are able to address a current skills gap and ensure that UK health professionals have the skills to tackle issues affecting the UK within a global context, becoming the global health leaders of tomorrow."
The £1 million award from the Catalyst Fund supports the Skills Strategy for the Liverpool City Region, cementing Liverpool's position as a world-leading centre of infectious disease and global health, and was supported by both the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Local Enterprise Partnership.
The initiative will include industry and field-led curriculum co-design and delivery that will ensure the readiness of the UK's health professionals for outbreaks such as Ebola and Zika, expertise on antimicrobial resistance, and humanitarian and disaster response management. The transformation of LSTM's education provision will attract global and local talent to further strengthen the global health expertise in Liverpool, and LSTM's global footprint.
LSTM's Director, Professor Janet Hemingway, said: "LSTM has been at the forefront of teaching in tropical medicine for 120 years and over the next three years this investment by HEFCE will enable us to develop a research informed and field led global health offering that is flexible, accessible and relevant for the UK in a global context. I would like to thank all of those who supported us in our bid, particularly our colleagues in the Liverpool City Region."
LSTM has a global research portfolio exceeding £300M and has key alliances with Public Health England, UK Armed Military Forces, local NHS trusts and health providers in Liverpool and across the world. The expansion of a flexible portfolio of teaching will cement its ability to produce the next generations of global health leaders, equipped to tackle the enormity of the global health challenges that face us now and in the future.
Yvonne Hawkins, HEFCE's Director for Universities and Colleges, said: "This Catalyst Fund investment will enable the delivery of new teaching provision and skills which will benefit both students and employers. These skills developments in healthcare align well with the Industrial Strategy, as well as supporting local demand. This is one of a number of recent investments we have made in new skills developments to support students and employers in specialist areas."
Notes
HEFCE's Catalyst Fund provides targeted investment in activity led by higher education institutions. The fund supports a range of student and sector priorities, including innovation in higher education, efficiency and effectiveness, and student interest issues.
Read a recently published report by Deloitte, on the economic impact of HEFCE's Catalyst Fund, which found significant benefits for students, the economy and society.