Expert Advisory Network
Join us in connecting and collaborating with like-minded colleagues from across different industries, career grades, specialties and backgrounds. Together we will explore the themes of innovation, research and technology to help shape the future of surgical education.
Innovation in Surgical Education - Proof of Concept Funding Application
Innovation in Surgical Education Proof of Concept Funding is designed to incubate, harness, and promote creative initiative in the education and training of surgeons and the wider surgical team. It provides an opportunity for surgeons, medical practitioners, and/or providers of clinical education tools, equipment, and software to promote enhancement of surgical education.
The funding is aimed at organisations and must be led by a member or fellow of RCS England, including the Faculty of Dental Surgery. Applicants can apply for up to £5,000 to support a project or pilot of an idea to either:
• enhance an existing RCS England course or learning experience;
• or form a new offer for its portfolio.
In either case, the outcome of the work should be enhanced surgical education and complement the existing portfolio and our strategic priorities.
For more information about the background, outcomes, application process, terms, and conditions, and our learning strategy, please refer to this document.
Applications opened on Wednesday 27th September 2023, we recommend reading the supplementary document, in particular pages 2-3, before applying.
Applications are due to close at 11.59pm on Monday 8 January 2024. We will accept ad hoc submissions for funding applications that sit above the £5000 limit throughout the year which the appraisal group will review as applicable.
To apply, please click this link to fill in the application form.
The network will feed directly into the development of future courses and training programmes, and assist us in teaching surgeons and surgical care teams the skills necessary to embrace change and stay at the forefront of advances to the profession.
As a part of the network we also focus on your development and help to enhance the skills you need to become a leader of innovation. You will have access to key resources, articles and podcasts that inspire creative and insightful thinking, and question what makes an innovative leader.
How the network is run
The virtual network will engage regularly on Teams and take part in ongoing discussions and forums. The topic of each meeting will vary and will be circulated in advance, along with any relevant resources and reading material. You will have the opportunity to:
- Discuss the latest research.
- Learn from peers and other industries.
- Share ideas on topics such as immersive learning technologies and environments.
- Form small working groups within the network to test proof of concepts, product development ideas and evaluate the impact of technologies.
Innovation Peers
The Expert Advisory Network is home to our Innovation Peers. You can now nominate your colleagues (or yourself) as an Innovation Peer. This is a wonderful way to recognise and celebrate hard work, dedication and creative thinking. The innovation can be anything from using a new augmented reality technology application to the transplantation of an existing tool or technique into a new learning situation. We want to hear about all innovations, large and small. Submit a nomination.
Network governance
The Expert Advisory Network will be co-chaired by RCS England Council member Richard Kerr and Steven Myint, and managed by RCS England. The network will be steered by the overarching strategy of the RCS England Learning Committee, to which the network will feed its outputs, recommendations and significant findings.
Please read through the Network's Terms of Reference.
Richard Kerr BSc, MB BS, MS, FRCS
Richard Kerr has been a Consultant neurosurgeon at the Oxford Radcliffe University Hospital since 1990. He is Lead Clinician of the Neurosurgical Department and Clinical Centre Chairman of the Radcliffe Infirmary, with a wide practice of neurosurgery and special interests in Skull Base and Vascular disorders.
He is an Honorary senior lecturer at University of Oxford and Co-Principal Investigator in the MRC funded International Subarachnoid Aneurysm Trial (ISAT). The publication of this trial led to a global change in the management of aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage. He was elected to the Council of the Society of British Neurological Surgeons (SBNS) in 2003 and became President-Elect of the SBNS taking up office of President of the SBNS from September 2014. He was elected to council of The Royal College of Surgeons of England in 2013 and was re-elected in 2019. He was the Invited Chair of the RCS Eng sponsored Independent Commission on the Future of Surgery, which was published in November 2018.
Steven Myint MD, PhD
Steve Myint is a medical academic turned businessman and entrepreneur. He is a former Professor of Microbiology and Immunology in Leicester and Dean of Medicine and Head of the Health Schools at the University of Surrey. He is currently an adjunct Professor at Duke-NUS Medical School. In the last decade plus he has been, at first, a corporate executive in a multinational company and then an entrepreneur and mentor of start-ups and SMEs, mainly in the deep tech space. Success of these has allowed him to dabble as an investor. Apart from being co-chair of the EAN he is chairman of SGVector, InEx and Golden Futures. He is also founder of a company and ambassador to an organisation that promotes ethical values.
The network is open to both members and non-members of the RCS England, all specialties and career grades are welcome. If you would like to join, please register here.
The RCS Expert Advisory Network is generously supported by:
