A regional consortium has secured £2.5million
funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to
deliver an innovative scheme to encourage more registered healthcare
professionals into research careers.
The NIHR Inspiring Students into Research Scheme, also known as INSIGHT, is aimed at all
healthcare, social work and public health students, as well as recent graduates,
from across the North East and North Cumbria.
The award will fund a three-year project, which
will include a range of events, activities and training, and will be delivered
by Northumbria University in partnership with the universities of Newcastle,
Teesside, Sunderland and Cumbria. The project will also receive support from
the training and career development arm of the North East’s Academic Health
Sciences Centre (AHSC), Newcastle Health Innovation Partners (NHIP) Academy.
In addition to funding the project the grant
will also support up to 30 Masters in Research (MRes) studentships across the
region.
The funding application was led by Professor Annette Hand, who works as Professor of Nursing – Clinical Academic between
Northumbria University and Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
She explained: “This award really demonstrates
the value of regional partners across higher education, industry and governance
working together to create and implement new opportunities that will hugely
benefit the healthcare industry not only in this area, but nationally.
“Te INSIGHT programme was created to
encourage, promote and support progression along research career pathways for
the benefit of the healthcare industry and is available to a whole range of
healthcare professionals from nurses and paramedics to those in social work.
“The programme will give over 16,000 students
across the region the opportunity to consider and develop a career in health
research. Research across health and social care can provide breakthrough
solutions to real world issues so to receive funding to allow us not only to
provide this programme, but also fund some MRes studentships is absolutely
incredible.”
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 can invest in our next
generation of researchers in the North East and North Cumbria and show students
all of the benefits that research roles and careers have to offer."
Speaking on the funding award, Dr Niina
Kolehmainen, NHIP Academy Deputy Director, and a senior allied health
researcher at Newcastle Health Innovation Partners (NHIP) Academy, which provides support for the next generation of researchers and
academic leaders in health and care to access career development opportunities,
said: ” It is vital for the healthcare, social work and
public health professionals of today to have an understanding of
research. They are well-placed to make research everyone’s business, and shift
the system at scale so that nurses, podiatrists, occupational therapists and
others offer all patients opportunities to participate in research.
“The INSIGHT scheme
is a great vehicle for widening research training and career options for
professions beyond medicine and we are seeing a huge interest in the scheme
from recent graduates.”.
Northumbria University is one of the largest centres for
healthcare professional education in the North of England, offering a range of specialist degree and CPD programmes across many areas of nursing, midwifery, operating department
practice, physiotherapy and occupational therapy.
The University is ranked 8th in the UK for research power across Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy
according to the latest Research Excellence Framework.
Northumbria University is dedicated to reducing health and
social inequalities, contributing to the regional and national workforce and
improving social, economic and health outcomes for the most marginalised in
society. Through its new Centre for Health
and Social Equity, known as
CHASE, the University will bring together researchers who are working to
deliver world-leading health and social equity research and creating
innovative, evidence-based policies and data-driven solutions to bring
impactful change across the region, the UK and globally.
Its aim is to develop and harness Northumbria’s
research, education and knowledge exchange expertise to help meet the health
and social needs of multiple stakeholders and communities in the city, region
and beyond.
Click here for more information about the INSIGHT programme.
Notes to
editors
The mission
of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is to improve the
health and wealth of the nation through research. We do this by:
Funding high quality, timely
research that benefits the NHS, public health and social care;
Investing in world-class
expertise, facilities and a skilled delivery workforce to translate
discoveries into improved treatments and services;
Partnering with patients,
service users, carers and communities, improving the relevance, quality
and impact of our research;
Attracting, training and
supporting the best researchers to tackle complex health and social care
challenges;
Collaborating with other public
funders, charities and industry to help shape a cohesive and globally
competitive research system;
Funding applied global health
research and training to meet the needs of the poorest people in low and
middle income countries.
NIHR is
funded by the Department of Health and Social Care. Its work in low and middle
income countries is principally funded through UK international
development funding from the UK government.
