Leading role for UWE Bristol in £33.2m programme to inspire students into research

UWE Bristol will play a leading role in a new £33.2m national programme designed to attract people into research careers in health and social care.

The university is the principal institution for the programme’s South West Central regional hub, supported by Bournemouth University.

The three-year INSIGHT (Inspiring Students into Research) scheme, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, will provide research training and engagement programmes for students and early career professionals across 12 regions. It will support institutions to deliver engagement programmes to attract people into research careers and offer fully-funded research masters places to train those new to research.

Dr Adele Drew-Hill, Dean and Head of UWE Bristol’s School of Health and Social Wellbeing, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Bournemouth University to deliver this innovative and engaging programme designed to enable students to explore a career in research. Our shared vision is to develop the leading regional hub for healthcare research skills development in the South West.

“Nationally, we are recognised for our commitment to supporting pipelines of future research leaders in healthcare, social work, and public health. Our approach will build on the strength of our existing training provision and regional partnerships to offer an expanded, more inclusive, and collaborative range of engagement activities and studentships, responsive to the research needs of our partner organisations and community networks.”

The scheme will provide over 300 masters places available per year across 12 regions. It aims to build research capacity across England making sure competitive research training opportunities are available to all regardless of geography. Each region has been awarded up to 30 masters studentships per year.

The regional programmes are open to students and recent graduates from professions without much exposure to research during their professional training. This will broaden access to research training. It will also help create a more diverse research workforce. It is open to students and recent graduates from: registered healthcare professions (not including doctors and dentists); social work professions; and public health professions.

Innovative engagement activities will promote the benefits of research careers within health and care. This includes careers combining research and practice. Activities are wide ranging. Examples include workshops, networking, mentoring programmes and showcase events.

The fully-funded (including both course fees and stipend) Research Masters opportunities will enable students and recent graduates to gain valuable research training and experience. This will help develop the skills needed to join the research workforce. It will also help build capacity within health and social care.

Institutions in each region will advertise their Research Masters training and engagement opportunities. They can be held full-time or part-time (over two years). The first cohort of places start from September 2024.

Carol Clark, Professor of Physiotherapy and lead academic for the INSIGHT programme at Bournemouth University, said: “The INSIGHT programme provides an outstanding opportunity for health and care professionals to build their research skills. Embedding research into careers has the potential to improve outcomes for all the people who access health and care in England. For the South West Central region, Bournemouth University is delighted to be working alongside UWE to deliver MRes programmes for the next three years, building research capacity and capability.”

Professor Waljit Dhillo, Dean of the National Institute for Health and Care Research Academy, said: “We know how important early exposure to research is for helping students and early career professionals develop the knowledge and skills needed to join the research workforce and build successful research careers in the future.

“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 this way, and show students all of the benefits that research roles and careers have to offer.”

For further information visit the South West Central regional hub webpage or email insight.swcentral@uwe.ac.uk.