The College of Medical and Dental Sciences at the University of Birmingham is a major international centre for research and education in medicine, medical sciences, dentistry, nursing and physiotherapy.

The University has recently completed an ambitious programme of organisational change which was necessary to ensure that the University is able to respond quickly to changes in the external environment and capitalise on its considerable strengths.

The previous structure based on 19 Schools has been replaced by one made up of five Colleges. The College of Medical and Dental Sciences incorporates the subject areas of Medicine, Medical Sciences, Dentistry, Nursing and Physiotherapy and became operational on 1st August 2008.

Facilities

The new collective College has encompassed some major developments, expansion and improvement to its facilities, education delivery and research activity in recent years. 

The College has invested more than £73m in an ongoing programme of works to improve and expand its research and teaching facilities, with the aim of advancing its position at the forefront of developments in medical science. This includes a £35m Institute of Biomedical Research, a new state-of-the-art £11.8m Wolfson Centre for Medical Education and a new  £500K prosectorium facility for anatomy teaching incorporating 10 ventilated tables and high tech AV teaching aids.  There are now further plans to refurbish the Medical School building foyer to include improved student services and library facilities with work to be completed by Autumn 2011.

Find out more about the refurbishment of the Medical School foyer and Barnes Library ground floor

The College created a new £1m phantom head teaching laboratory facility within the School of Dentistry during the summer of 2009.  In 2009-10, the College continued to participate in the Centre for Innovation and Training in Elective Care (CITEC) collaboration, which aims to develop Inter-Professional Learning (IPL). CITEC has now funded the installation of a small clinical skills suite with video recording and feedback equipment and a series of successful pilot half day sessions of simulation-based IPL have been held. Work is under way to make these facilities available to wider groups of students and to develop the range of simulation activities available.

From 2010 onwards the College plans to deliver high quality laboratory and clinical research facilities within the new University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHBFT) building.  In partnership with Advantage West Midlands, a new purpose built HTA-compliant biorepository, gene therapy pharmacy, a mobile clinical research facility and commercial spin out laboratory is also planned. In addition we are looking to expand our clinical trials activity by refurbishing an existing facility. Alongside these developments, the Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility (CRF) has received an extra £9.9 million of funding to support expansion of the current facility as well as creating a unique paediatric CRF at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.  A technology hub will be established within the medical school building in order to bring together high-end technologies and provide access to the latest scientific equipment for research staff from within the College and wider University community.

Education

The College provides 7 well established undergraduate programmes in our key subject areas, including the Graduate Entry Medicine programme which has proved so successful that there are plans to expand this course.

Numerous new postgraduate programmes have also been developed including the successful MSc Treatment of Substance Misuse, and the PG Dip Physician Assistant Studies both launched in 2008. 

A wide range of continuing professional development (CPD) training is also available from 1 day to a few weeks to top up your skills and knowledge and stay ahead of the game.  Most courses are offered from of our on-site conference facilities, the Centre for Professional Development, which has a range of meeting, training and breakout rooms, state of the art AV equipment and business facilities for delegates including an IT room, daily newspapers and BBC News 24.

Programmes at all levels are delivered by some of the UK’s most respected clinicians and health professionals, providing you with the best possible learning experience.

The College also delivers high quality distance learning resources to complement traditional teaching methods and clinical practice. Significant developments in the use of lecture recordings, ePortfolios, and the student learning environment, intraMED, further enhance the opportunities for personalised learning and reflective practice.

The College has a close relationship with the National Health Service, charities, sporting organisations and private sector healthcare.  This facilitates the translation of research into real improvements in patient care.

The College now works closely with many of the teaching hospitals, primary care trusts and training practices across the English West Midlands.  Students are encouraged to broaden their knowledge and experience by working across a wide range of organisations and experiencing the varied cultures and demographics of the West Midlands.

Research

The College is at the forefront of medical, health and dentistry research.  We deliver world leading research activities to develop and nurture excellence in basic and clinical science, and to ultimately improve human health.

The recent Research Assessment Exercise outcomes exemplify our world-leading and internationally excellent research activity across a wide range of disciplines, and most significantly reflecting our strategic strengths in Cancer Sciences, Hormones & Genes and Primary Care research.

The results also evidence sustained development in other core areas and highlight significant improvement in Epidemiology and Public Health, Health Services Research and Dentistry.

The College secured just over £70m of new research funding in the 2008-2009 period and has over 1000 research active academic staff working in a vibrant research and knowledge transfer environment.

Up to 50 studentships are awarded each year from major funders such as MRC, BBSRC, CRUK, WT & EU offering generic, scientific and entrepreneurial training opportunities for postgraduate students.  PhD and MPhil opportunities are available in the Schools of Cancer Sciences, Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Dentistry, Health and Population Sciences and Immunity and Infection.

Professor Lawrence Young Head of the College of Medical and Dental Sciences