Healthcare Innovation and Technology

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. 

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: 

Funding 

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

Applying for the course 

Places on standalone modules are currently full. Therefore, applications for standalone modules are not being accepted this year. Sign up to our mailing list to stay abreast of standalone module information, including applications. When and how do I apply?" tabs on the MSc and PGCert pages for more information about applying to the MSc and PGCert.

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.