Teaching
Teaching methods will include lectures, student and tutor-led seminars, small group teaching and supervisions, guest speaker sessions, group discussions and workshops, practical sessions, transferable skills workshops, team building sessions, independent research, coursework projects, case studies, and an individual research project leading to a dissertation.
Each unit in the PgCert and PgDip years will be associated with a residential week which will be carried out in Cambridge. Students will be required to attend and engage in all the residential week sessions. Teaching outside the residential weeks will be supported by supervisions (normally online) and online resources.
The Units will comprise:
Unit 1: Research skills and innovation (PGCert)
Unit 2: Healthcare Technologies I (PGCert)
Unit 3: Healthcare systems improvement (PGCert)
Unit 4: Patient and population health (PGDip)
Unit 5: Healthcare Technologies II (PGDip)
Unit 6: Healthcare system innovation (PGDip)
Teaching in the MSt year of the course will be predominantly online. Each student will be assigned a project supervisor who will provide regular monthly online supervision during the research project. This will be supplemented by group sessions/seminars to provide research skills training. MSt students will be required to attend in Cambridge for two two-day activities: presentation of their research project plans at the start of the year and presentation of their research findings towards the end of the year. Other year groups will be invited to attend the final presentation conference to provide the opportunity to mix across year-groups, so enhancing networking.
| One to one supervision |
For the PGCert and PGDip, students will typically receive 1 hour of supervision time per Unit. In the MSt year each student will be assigned a project supervisor who will provide online supervision during the research project on a monthly basis (approximately 8 hours in total). |
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| Seminars & classes |
For the PGCert and PGDip, students will typically receive around 4 hours of seminar time per Unit. The balance between seminars, practicals and small group teaching hours will vary between each unit. In the MSt year, research skills training will be provided through group sessions/seminars, which will be delivered online (around 1-2 hours per month). |
| Lectures |
During the residential weeks of the PGCert and PGDip, students will receive around 10 hours of lecture-style teaching for each Unit. Each residential week will be full time for 5 days. |
| Practicals |
For the PGCert and PGDip, students will typically take part in around 5 hours of practical-type sessions per Unit. The balance between practicals, seminars and small group teaching hours will vary between each unit. |
| Small group teaching |
For the PGCert and PGDip, students will typically take part in around 5 hours of small group-type teaching per Unit. The balance between small group teaching, seminars and practicals hours will vary between each unit. |
| Literature Reviews |
Students on the MSt year will be expected to complete a literature review as part of their dissertation. |
| Posters and Presentations |
MSt students will be required to attend in Cambridge for two activities: oral presentation of their research project plans at the start of the year and oral presentation of their research findings towards the end of the year. Other year groups will be invited to attend the final presentation conference to provide the opportunity to mix across year-groups, so enhancing networking. |
| Taught/Research Balance |
Entirely Taught
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Feedback
Formal written feedback will be provided on all submitted assignments. Students will also receive regular reports on their progress, and will be able to contact the Course Director for informal feedback.
Assessment
Thesis / Dissertation
For the MSt, the assessment of the research project will include a planning report of up to 3,000 words and a dissertation of between 10,000 and 12,000 words in length. Both the planning and final research reports will also be assessed by oral presentations. As well as demonstrating the ability to plan a research project, the planning document will require students to put their research into the context of future trends, and demonstrate a good understanding of how a systems approach affects the ability to innovate. The research dissertation will require students to have a synoptic overview of the course units in executing their project plan, using a more comprehensive knowledge and application of the methods taught in units 1 to 6.
Essays
Throughout the PGCert and PGDip years, students will be assessed during each Unit through written reports of between 3,000 and 4,000 words (Units 1, 3, 4 and 6). Units 2 and 5 will be assessed through three short reports per unit, each of 4 pages in length.