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MSc in Surgical Science and Practice

Gain the essential non-clinical skills for a successful clinical career 

Taught modules

Healthcare Innovation and Technology

Overview 

The recent pace of innovation in healthcare is unprecedented. Rapid advances in many fields promise to disrupt current surgical care. 

The “Future of Surgery” report, from the Royal College of Surgeons, considered the changes that are occurring and how they will impact on patients, surgeons and the health service over the next 20 years. The Commission identified four areas that will have the greatest impact: 

  1. Minimally-invasive surgery 
  2. Imaging, virtual reality and augmented reality 
  3. Big data, genomics and artificial intelligence 
  4. Specialised interventions (e.g. 3D bioprinting, nano-surgery, artificial organs).

The Healthcare Innovation and Technology course provides insight into these different areas of innovation and explores both the challenges and opportunities they provide. Students will develop an understanding of the innovation pathway and develop their skills in idea generation, needs analysis, evaluation of innovation, developing a business case and pitching it. Students will also explore the challenges of adapting to new innovations in their day-to-day practice.  

The course is offered by the Nuffield Department of Surgery. Class sizes are kept small, usually 20 or fewer, to allow interaction with tutors and exchange of experience among students. The week includes a visit to Intuitive and exposure to surgical robots and virtual reality simulation. During the week teams will put together a case for an innovation and finish the week with a pitching session and feedback. The groups will also explore aspects of coping with innovation and introducing innovations to the healthcare environment. 

Study before and after the course is supported by online learning resources created exclusively for module participants. 

Faculty 

The module is led by Mr Matthew Gardiner and Mr Ryan Kerstein.  

The module leads are joined by a faculty which draws on expertise from academia, healthcare and business. Tutors are available for mentoring and some offer topics for the MSc final year research project and dissertation. Previous faculty have included: 

  • Constantin Coussious OBE, Director of the Oxford Institute of Biomedical Engineering and OrganOx Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer 
  • Nick de Pennington, CEO and Founder of Ufonia - an Oxford start-up that is developing autonomous telemedicine 
  • Jim Gabriel, Chief Commercial Officer, CardMedic 
  • Rachel Grovenor, Licensing & Ventures Manager at Oxford University Innovation 
  • Anant Jani, Research Fellow, University of Oxford 
  • Chaitanya Korisapati, Senior Account CTO, Microsoft 
  • Alistair Lamb, Cancer Research UK Clinician Scientist and Consultant Urologist (robotic surgery) 
  • Jennifer Lane, NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer, Queen Mary, University of London 
  • Katrina Mason, Consultant ENT Surgeon and Associate Medical Director, Ufonia 
  • Megan Morys-Carter, Director of Digital Innovation, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, Director of The Hill 
  • Marcus Stow OBE,Start up Mentor, NHS Innovation Accelerator 
  • Umar Taj, Co-Founder CogCo and Associate Professor, Warwick Business School 
  • Joe Varrasso, Founder and CEO Keidimi 
  • Dr Linna Zhou, Martin school Fellow, University of Oxford 

Assessment  

Assessment is by written assignment. Assessment is undertaken by those taking the course for academic credit. 

Mode of attendance 

This course can be taken: 

Academic credit and short course participants 

Short course participants who submit a module assignment and achieve a pass, and who within two years go on to enrol in an award-bearing course (e.g. MSc, PGDip, PGCert) which includes the module, may request exemption from re-taking the module. 

Short course participants who do not wish to undertake the assessed work required for academic credit but who do satisfy the course attendance requirements will receive a certificate of attendance. 

Venue and accommodation 

The course is run at a central Oxford teaching venue.  

The course administrators are able to advise on accommodation for your stay in Oxford, including booking university-owned accommodation. 

Fees for 2025-2026 

Description 

Home costs* 

Overseas costs* 

Annual award fee £2,195 £10,345 
Fees for each module for students enrolled in the MSc or PGCert £2,740 £2,740 
Fees for standalone modules £3,390 £3,390 

*The fee rates listed are for the academic year shown, and you should be aware that these rates will increase annually, so students should expect the total to be higher than is shown in the Illustration. The exact amount will depend on the fee rates set annually, and upon the years you are in attendance; these are normally published well before the start of each academic year, but for your own budgetary purposes you may wish to estimate a 5% annual increase on fee rates 

The course fee includes: 

  • Tuition
  • Course materials
  • Refreshments and a three-course lunch on each day of the course
  • Access to University of Oxford libraries and services including:
  • Radcliffe Science Library
  • Bodleian Libraries e-Resources
  • Exclusive access to the course’s online resources.

Funding 

Details of funding opportunities including grants, bursaries and scholarships are available on our sources of funding page. 

Applying for the course 

The application deadline for the standalone short course is eight weeks before the start of the course. Please complete this form if you are interested in applying to this course as a standalone short course.  

This course is part of the MSc in Surgical Science and Practice and the Postgraduate Certificate in Patient Safety and Quality Improvement. If you would like to apply for either programme please visit its programme page. 

Selection criteria 

To apply for this course, you should: 

  • be a graduate or have a professional healthcare-related qualification 

  • have at least two years' professional work experience in healthcare or a health-related field 

  • be comfortable in an academic teaching environment and with engaging in academic discourse 

  • have the opportunity, usually through your workplace, to apply what you learn in a healthcare setting 

  • demonstrate an adequate level of English (if English is not your first language) 

  • if taking the module for credit, be able to write academic English to a good standard.

Join our Oxford Open Grand Rounds, a series of virtual events featuring core concepts from the course. Open to all.

Join our Grand Rounds

Application deadline

This short course runs from Monday 9 March to Friday 13 March 2026.

The deadline for applications is eight weeks before the start date of each short course. Applications may be accepted beyond this deadline if space allows.

Apply
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Course related enquiries

Email: ssp@nds.ox.ac.uk

Interested in similar courses?

Have a look at our PGCert in Patient Safety and Quality Improvement or any of our related short courses.

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