University of Nottingham in East Midlands Secures Funding to Inspire Student Research
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.”
Dr Claire Diver, Associate Professor in Physiotherapy, NIHR East Midlands Programme Lead
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.”