School of Medicine Strategic Plan 2021-2026

2021-2026 Strategic Plan

School of Medicine

https://www.tcd.ie/medicine/

Contents 01 Head of School’s Welcome 4 02 Executive Summary

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03 Introduction 6 04 Strategic Plan Development & Planning

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05 School’s Vision 10 06 School’s Mission 11 07 Key Function: Undergraduate Education

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08 Key Function: Postgraduate Education

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09 Key Function: Research 17 10 Priority 1: Medical Curriculum Reform

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11 Priority 2: Governance 22 12 Priority 3: Marketing & Communications

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13 Priority 4: Infrastructure Development

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14 Priority 5: Student Support Services

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15 Priority 6: External Engagement

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16 Implementation 27 17 Conclusion 28

Contents

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01 Head of School’s welcome It gives me great pleasure to introduce the School of Medicine’s Strategic Plan 2021-2026. The plan will guide the School’s development over the next five years during what will be a challenging but exciting period. The School of Medicine is one of the largest and most complex and diverse Schools in Trinity College and it interacts with multiple hospitals and healthcare partners in the delivery of its tripartite missions of excellence in education, research and clinical practice. We are honoured to be involved in producing well educated and motivated healthcare practitioners; in conducting cutting edge research of benefit to patient care and the wider society and in supporting improved patient care and healthcare policy.

The actions planned under the key priority areas are ambitious but achievable and as they are implemented, will collectively enable the School to deliver significant impact on National and International healthcare developments. I am grateful to the team that produced this plan and to input from colleagues in the School and beyond. I look forward to working with the School on the implementation of the plan.

Professor Michael Gill Head of School of Medicine

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Head of School’s Welcome

02 Executive Summary The School of Medicine, hereinafter referred to as SoM, presents its new Strategic Plan for the period 20212026. The plan will focus on key functions and priorities determined by the School faculty through a series of planning meetings and communication activities. The SoM is a multidisciplinary School comprised of Medicine, Radiation Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, Human Health and Disease and Human Nutrition and Dietetics, and this is one of its great strengths. The plan will assist and encourage the SoM staff to focus on the continued delivery of high quality, modernised effective medical and healthcare education, on excellent and impactful research and, in association with our clinical partners, on effective healthcare policy and practice.

The SoM’s Strategic Plan 2021-2026 is focused on three key functions; Undergraduate Education, Postgraduate Education and Research, and six priorities; Governance, Curriculum Reform, Marketing and Communications, Infrastructure, Student Supports and External Engagement. The SoM’s strategic plan takes its lead

from the Trinity College’s Strategic Plan 2020-2025 titled Community and Connection that aims to shape the future of the University and benefit both Irish society and the wider world. The University’s plan and the SoM’s plan will focus on innovative ways to address challenges facing us in the delivery of education, research and clinical excellence. In the Universities strategic plan, the themes are centred on four key elements: Civic action, Organisation, Research and Education and we have used this as a guide to our three key functions.

The SoM plan interacts with these elements from the University Strategic Plan and develops the six priorities listed above. These priorities link with the nine cross cutting goals in the University plan. The SoM plan contains 72 actions in total, all of which are necessary, ambitious and achievable. These actions, if implemented, will enable the School to work together and with our healthcare partners to deliver on our mission and remain at the forefront of National and International activity.

Executive Summary

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03 Introduction The SoM is one of the largest and most complex of Schools in Trinity College, University of Dublin. The SoM sits within the Faculty of Health Sciences, alongside the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Dental Science. The SoM is a multidisciplinary School that is dispersed over a wide range of College and Healthcare partner sites with large teaching centres located on the major hospital partners sites of St. James’s Hospital, Tallaght University Hospital, the Coombe Hospital and St. Patrick’s Hospital. The SoM is the University partner of the Dublin Midlands Hospital group.

The SoM has a large faculty with over 1000 fulltime and honorary staff across 21 different disciplines each with well-developed professional links. The SoM has 371 honorary clinical staff associated with the medical and therapy programmes, consisting of 24 Clinical Professors, 48 Clinical Associate Professors, 211 Clinical Senior Lecturer, and 88 Clinical Lecturers. Each Head of Discipline provides academic leadership and has responsibility for the oversight of standards pertaining to the discipline, as well as contributing to policy and strategic planning. The Head of Discipline has oversight with respect to resource allocation and the delivery of teaching and research.

The SoM attracts a large number of bright ambitious undergraduate and postgraduate students mainly due to

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Introduction

its reputation as one of the world’s top medical schools and Trinity’s high University rankings. There are 1,457 undergraduate students in the SoM across six programmes, Medicine, Human Health and Disease, Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy and Radiation Therapy. The SoM postgraduate education programmes are diverse and cover a wide array of subjects catering to a growing and diverse postgraduate marketplace. There are 250 students registered on taught courses in 2020/2021: 48 MD students, 163 PhD students and 7 MSc by research.

The SoM is a large research active School within Trinity College providing opportunity for growth and progression in the existing and emerging strategic areas of Ageing, Cancer, Children’s Health, Personalised Medicine, Infection & Immunology, Mental Health and Neuroscience and Population Health and Health Policy. The development of the SoM’s Strategic Plan 2021-2026 coincides with the publication of the SoM’s first research strategy. The research strategy details the plan and direction of growth for research over the next five years within the SoM. The University Strategic Plan sets out a set of directions and pathways to enable the University to adequately react to incoming challenges such as environmental change, globalisation and technology advancement (figure 1).

CIVIC ACTION

Through our teaching, research and public engagement, we courageously advance the cause of a pluralistic, just and sustainable society.

RESEARCH

Pursued at the frontiers and intersections of discuplines, our research benefits our students, Ireland, and the world.

C O R E ORGANISATION

We foster an effective and flexible organisation, which values all members of our community.

Figure 1: University Strategic Plan CORE concept

EDUCATION

We challenge our students to think independently, communicate effectively, act responsibly, and develop continuously, equipping them for lives of active citizenship.

The University Strategic Plan is set out across nine key cross cutting goals: 1. We will foster an ever more diverse and inclusive student community 2. We will support a transformative student experience 3. We will practise next generation teaching and learning 4. We will stand up for research quality and impact 5. We will shape our organisation and focus research on the challenge of achieving a sustainable and healthy planet 6. We will enrich and expand our global network 7. We will develop and inhabit our space responsibly 8. We will be one Trinity community 9. We will secure the financial basis for our future development

In preparing the School’s Strategic Plan, each of the crosscutting goals was closely examined. This enabled the School to establish the six key priorities and ensure overlap with the University Strategic Plan and cross-cutting goals.

The six priorities determined by the School are: 1. Governance – mapping to University goals 5, 6, 8, 9 2. Curriculum reform – mapping to 1, 2, 3 3. Marketing and communications – mapping to 4, 5, 6 4. Infrastructure Development – mapping to 2, 3, 7, 9 5. Student Support Services – mapping to 1, 2, 3, 6 6. External Engagement – mapping to 5, 6, 9 The key functions, the six priorities, and the associated actions will govern and guide activities in the SoM over the next five years. All these priorities and any associated activities will span across Undergraduate teaching

and learning, Postgraduate teaching and learning, Research and services to the discipline/profession/civic engagement. These priorities reflect multiple views on the areas that the SoM needs to focus on and develop.

Each of the priorities was assigned to a subgroup, a lead and a co-lead. Each of the subgroups met at regular intervals and included all relevant stakeholders in the decision-making process. A process of engagement and communication with both the steering group and the subgroups has enabled each priority to derive a set of concise actions that will enable the SoM to address targets or gaps within the six priorities. These actions will also ensure the School focuses on achieving and delivering its mission, its value and its objectives over the next five years.

Introduction

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04 Strategic Plan Development & Planning The SoM plan was informed by a) an online survey of all staff b) the previous Strategic Plan (2015-2020), c) Accreditation reports, d) Quality reports and e) HEA Quality report (2020), HEA National Review of Gender Equality in Higher Education Institutions (2016). The COVID-19 pandemic presented a unique challenge with regards to consultation and engagement as much of the SoM’s activities were moved online as the School adapted.

It remains a testament to the dedication of the members of the School and the strength of the SoM’s partnerships and external contributors that the level of engagement, commitment and consultation was still maintained and even in some cases enhanced throughout the global pandemic.

A) An online survey for all staff In preparation for the SoM’s Strategic Plan 2021- 2026 the steering group set up an online survey that was sent to all SoM core and affiliated staff. This survey requested that individuals anonymously detail the SoM’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities for growth and threats to the School’s operations both currently and perceived in the next five years. The survey gave the School the opportunity to critically analyse the existing structures, communication methodologies and policies. The survey results also informed decisions made by the steering group including its aims and objectives and in the selection of the priorities.

B) The previous strategic plan (2015-2020) In the development of the SoM’s Strategic Plan (20212026) it was necessary to evaluate the previous strategic

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Strategic Plan Development & Planning

plan 2015-2020 and determine the outcomes of the commitments made in that plan. Whilst the SoM has worked hard over the last five years to realise the goals of the plan, it is acknowledged that some of these goals require an ongoing process of review and quality improvement. Key elements included in the previous strategic plan include:

• School Structure Evaluation: the SoM’s structure, governance model and/or organogram was to be reviewed and a new more manageable model developed. This new model would better support the SoM’s function and objectives than the previous model which had all seventeen disciplines and academic units reporting directly to one HoS. The conclusion and publishing of a finalised new governance structure and internal organogram for the School will continue to be a key priority and set of actions for the new Strategic Plan 2021-2026. This was also a key recommendation of external reviewers during the Quality Review in February 2020.

• Trinity Translational Medicine Institute (TTMI): In the previous SoM Strategic Plan 2015-2020, the SoM established the Trinity Translational Medicine Institute. The development and subsequent success of this Trinity Research Institute was made possible by working with the College, and our internal and external partners. Similarly, in the new strategic plan, the SoM will build our activities through strong relationships between our research institutes, clinical research facility and our major teaching hospitals at St. James’s and Tallaght University Hospital, and all our allied clinical partners and research institutes.

• Education: The SoM Strategic Plan 2015-2020 had a set of actions that focused on its educational programmes. The SoM will continue to strive to be an innovative research driven interdisciplinary and international School. For education at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels to flourish, expand and remain cutting edge, it is imperative that the curricula undergo continuous renewal to reflect innovative ideas and teaching technologies.

Consequently, there will be close alignment between the educational objectives of the previous Strategic Plan and this one.

C) Accreditation reports Accreditation of the School’s programmes by the appropriate regulatory bodies such as CORU and Irish Medical Council is an ongoing process that continuously informs and amends the School strategic plans and ensures benchmarking of our programmes against international standards. Recommendations are examined and implemented within agreed timeframes and subject to resource allocation and alignment with the School’s educational mission.

D) The Quality report (2020) The steering group also considered the report and recommendations of the External Quality Review that took place in February 2020. These recommendations focusing on governance and management have informed this plan.

E) HEA National Review of Gender Equality in Higher Education Institutions (2016) The main actions recommended by the Gender Equality Taskforce (HEA National Review of Gender Equality in Higher Education Institutions (2016) HEA Expert were: embedding gender equality in organisational culture; flexible and agile working and developing gender awareness among staff. This also allowed us to incorporate human rights and equality under the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty (Irish Human Rights and Equality Act 2014) into our daily operation and work carried out by staff, including students and the public, who we provide services to.

Strategic Plan Development & Planning

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Our vision is to create a unique environment whereby individuals can become fully equipped with the scientific and clinical knowledge needed to contribute and become leaders in their chosen field of study 10

05 School’s Vision

The School has developed clear vision, values and mission statements. The development of the new plan gave the School Faculty an opportunity to re-evaluate and review what is key to its continued success. The SoM reviewed the Universities new vision statement “We are a globally connected community of learning, research and scholarship inspiring generation to meet the challenges of the future”. The SoM vision is to create a unique environment whereby individuals can become fully equipped with the scientific and clinical knowledge needed to contribute and become leaders in their chosen field of study.

The SoM encourages the promotion of individuals who, through self-efficacy and outstanding clinical, professional and ethical standards, have the skills to become leaders in their chosen field of practice and fulfil health service roles with distinction, in accordance with the Trinity graduate attributes.

Akin to the Universities Strategic Plan values: inquisitive, pioneering, responsible, inclusive and collaborative, the SoM has four descriptive terms that illustrate values: Research intensive, Environmentally conscientious, Inclusive and Collaborative.

School’s Vision

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06 School’s Mission

The SoM has taken the lead from the University’s approach and has evaluated and developed its existing mission statement to ensure it encompasses all aspects of the Universities new CORE mission as follows: C= CIVIC ACTION: The SoM embraces an ethos of social responsibility, accountability, public service and community involvement. It is dedicated to meeting the healthcare needs of the national and global community. The SoM educates students to become healthcare practitioners to practice with integrity and with a deep understanding of the impact of psycho-social influences and inequality on health and disease.

O= ORGANISATION: The SoM has developed and grown a community focused on diversity, inclusion and flexibility.

R= RESEARCH: Central to our SoM Research Mission is to support excellent and impactful research to improve health and patient outcomes. Research is at the core of all of our activities and is focused on improving human

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School’s Mission

health and healthcare through a blend of curiositydriven and theme-focused research. We will support ethical research with strong integrity in designated strategic research areas, reflecting national and international developments in biomedical research and healthcare. We value sustainable and responsible breakthrough innovation and the opportunities for local, national, and international collaboration E= EDUCATION: The SoM delivers education to the highest international standards to develop healthcare professionals equipped with the scientific and clinical knowledge and skills to fulfil their future roles in a competent, caring, and patient centred manner, reflecting all domains of excellent practice and meeting the required standards of external accrediting and regulatory bodies. The SoM further aims to integrate its educational obligations with other missions to deliver and affect high-quality patient care, improved global health, research excellence and new knowledge generation. With flourishing external relations and partnerships, the SoM is set on branding itself as a well-known open organisation.

CIVIC ACTION

The school embraces an ethos of social responsibility, accountability, public service and community involvement. It is dedicated to meeting the healthcare needs of the national and global community.

The SoM does this by training doctors and allied practitioners to practice with integrity and with a deeper understanding of the impact of psycho-social influences and inequity on health and disease.

RESEARCH

The School, as a leading research-intensive institution, has and will continue to foster a commitment to life-long learning in its undergraduate students in prepartion for post-graduate training.

C O R E ORGANISATION

The SoM has developed and grown a community centred on inclusion and flexibility. With so many flourishing external relations and partnerships, the SoM is set on branding itself as a well-known open organisation.

EDUCATION

The SoM delivers education to the highest international standards.

The faculty train clinicians who are equipped with the scientific and clinical knowledge and skills to fulfil their professional roles in a competent, caring and patient centred manner, reflecting all domains of excellent practice. The SoM further aims to integrate its educational obligations with other missions to deliver and effect high-quality patient care, improved global health, research excellence and new knowledge generation.

Summary: The culmination of the process of reflection, consultation and forward thinking, the SoM is committing to a set of actions that are essential, ambitious and achievable. They are described below under three key functions and six priorities.

With flourishing external relations and partnerships, the SoM is set on branding itself as a well-known open organisation.

School’s Mission

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07 Key Function: Undergraduate Education Introduction: This plan will ensure the SoM explores new avenues in the delivery of education, while continuing its longstanding goals of being innovative, research driven, interdisciplinary, diverse, inclusive and international. The attainment of these goals are staples in all undergraduate programmes. The SoM key functions and priorities and specific undergraduate education actions are shared with the Trinity Education Project. With respect to undergraduate students the SoM seeks to deliver healthcare education in such a way that the graduate is distinguished by having: • A broad world view informed by an education which encompasses inter- disciplinarity through engagement with humanities as well as within a broad range of biomedical disciplines and which provides a global perspective on determinants of health and disease.

• Demonstrable excellence in their ability to communicate effectively with individuals and externally with society.

• A willingness to promote the health and wellness of the most vulnerable in our society.

• A strong commitment to the ethical dimension of medicine and healthcare and an ability to use a comprehensive framework to engage in ethical issues both in their practice and in society.

• Enhanced scientific literacy, knowledge understanding of research methodologies.

and

• A willingness and capacity for leadership informed by an understanding of management principles.

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Key Function: Undergraduate Education

CORE Values: With respect to undergraduate education the SoM interacts with all four CORE values - civic action, organisation research and education. The SoM’s delivery of its undergraduate programmes was evaluated and the following outlines how the defined SoM priorities overlap with CORE: • C= Civic Action: Curriculum reform and renewal interacts with “C” the civic action value by ensuring that undergraduate programmes reflect inclusion and pluralism in their content ideology and access routes. The SoM will leverage the curricular reform process to strengthen and deepen the ethos of equality, diversity and social justice that already exists within the School, especially where this relates to access to health and the promotion of wellbeing. The undergraduate programmes have long articulated the global challenge to align with the national Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) mainly health through delivery of programmes in global determinants of health and development and by providing elective opportunities across the globe.

• O=Organisation: The governance reform priority interacts with the “O” organisation value by ensuring that a revised and reformed School governance structure recognises the work of the Undergraduate Medical Education team to strengthen, influence and enhance education across the SoM. • R=Research: The reform of the undergraduate curriculum as a priority is reflective of “R” core value; research by expanding the student experiences to promote curiosity and rigorous enquiry at the frontiers of biomedicine and healthcare and at the intersection of disciplines to benefit society.

• E=Education: By committing to renewal of undergraduate curricula, the SoM will be adopting the graduate attributes of independence, effective communication, responsible action and continuous development throughout the life journey of learning across all the Disciplines and Professionally Accredited Programmes within the School.

Actions in SoM Strategic Plan 2021-2026: The SoM has developed a set of actions that will enable the growth and renewal of Undergraduate education over the next five years.

Action 1: We will undertake a review of course structure and content and explore prioritisation of topics considering developments in scientific and educational knowledge and respond to recommendations from recent Quality and Medical Council, CORU and other Professional accrediting bodies reviews/reports. We will incorporate and integrate increased use of blended learning strategies and effective use of learning technology to build on experience obtained during the pandemic.

Action 2: We will integrate the principles of interdisciplinary learning and expansion of our intercalated and academic internship programmes across all UG programmes.

Action 3: We will establish a new Discipline of Medical Education as a core element of the School’s future vision. To enable this, we will appoint a Professor of Medical Education to support the MB, Bch, BAO programme specifically to lead design, development and strategic direction of the overall curricula. The Discipline will include a dedicated team, with administrative, academic and clinical staff; with defined resource, authority, responsibilities and goals. Working with a range of other SoM committees, the discipline will lead dissemination of good assessment practices, effective student feedback and faculty development.

Action 4: The Director of Undergraduate Teaching and Learning (DUTL) and the Head of Discipline

of Medical Education will work with the Chief Clinical Academic Officer (CCAO) to Dublin Midlands Hospital group, academic leads and professional services staff to inform feedback and student support and promote close and effective working relationships between the programme team and clinical placement partners.

Action 5: We will review and renew the partnership agreements for all clinical placement providers across the SoM. This review will examine the priority and access and resources available for Trinity students within the academic partner hospitals.

Action 6: The Discipline of Medical Education, when established, will conduct a review of examination and assessment across the School, to maintain and improve validity and fairness of student appraisal and to encourage increased availability of feedback for students. The team will create standard protocols and guidance for standard setting in all exams and encourage diverse assessment practices.

Action 7: We will develop a strategy to improve access to tools for professional development to all staff, including clinical academic staff, to help them develop their skills in teaching and assessment.

Action 8: In addition to the SoM’s priority to develop external engagement, the Discipline of Medical Education will continue to work internally with the University and externally with the Higher Education Authority to examine processes of selecting students for admission.

Action 9: The DUTL and the Head of Discipline of Medical Education will consider the balance between proportional recruitment of European versus non-European students.

Action 10: The SoM will strive to meet and exceed the University targets for the recruitment of students from alternative pathways such as Mature route (20%) and HEAR to maintain a diverse and inclusive student body.

Key Function: Undergraduate Education

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08 Key Function: Postgraduate Education Introduction: The SoM provides a vibrant environment for postgraduate study. The SoM currently has over 400 registered postgraduate students in taught and research degrees and offers 25 taught courses at the level of certificate, diploma and master’s degrees with new stand-alone modules also on offer. These span a broad spectrum of medical and scientific disciplines. The five current thematic areas of SoM taught courses are: • • • • •

Biomedicine and Pharmaceutical Science Health and Healthcare Neurosciences and Mental Health Imaging and Physical Sciences Medicine and Entrepreneurship

Research students may undertake PhD, MSc or MD degrees. A wide range of research activities are possible within the SoM, with considerable strengths in five thematic areas described under the key function of Research below.

Teaching and research are conducted in state-of-theart facilities on the main Trinity campus, and at our affiliated teaching hospitals. There is a major emphasis on Translational Research in the School, where research discoveries made in the laboratory can be advanced to a clinical setting to benefit human health.

CORE Values: The growth of Postgraduate Teaching and Learning within the SoM interacts with all four CORE values of the College - civic action, organisation research and education.

• C=Civic Action: The postgraduate team will work with the postgraduate student body in the development of new courses and programmes that reflect the interest of future researchers, healthcare professionals and society. This process of engagement 16

Key Function: Postgraduate Education

will allow for postgraduate taught programmes to be reviewed and restructured.

• O=Organisation: We will revise and reform our organogram to recognise and encourage cooperation and growth within Postgraduate education. We will develop a smaller number of pathways with greater shared teaching and increased resilience and efficiency.

• R=Research: The team has developed a set of clear actions detailed below to encourage increased funding for postgraduate research studentships. We will build on lessons learnt from COVID19 restrictions.

These lessons allow for continued flexibility in research degrees by developing non-lab and nonclinical based projects.

• E=Education: All the actions as part of the Strategic Plan focus on the delivery of education.

The postgraduate team have listed a number of specific actions that encourage flexibility in teaching via building online and distance-based modules and courses, shorter course options and stand-alone modules that would satisfy CPD requirements of healthcare professionals and micro credentialing.

Actions in SoM Strategic Plan 2021-2026: The Postgraduate education team (the DPGT&L and associate directors) in conjunction with the SoM has developed a set of actions that will enable the growth of Postgraduate education over the next five years.

The opportunity to grow and market the work of the postgraduate team is reflected in the selection of many of the priorities.

Action 11: The Postgraduate team will provide bespoke avenues for postgraduate research and taught students to conduct their degrees.

The postgraduate team will gain approval for distance-based MSc and PhD research degrees, to complement the newly developed MD structured degree. This will involve interaction with internal stakeholders, in turn enhancing the SoM’s wider priority to enhance engagement.

students numbers and establishing new PGT courses, we will grow the overall PG student number by 16%, from the approximate 500 PG students currently in 2021 to 580 PG student in 2025. We will also grow the nonEU student toward 18% of total PG students, approximately 100-120 students, by 2025.

Action 12: We will create a roadmap for ‘PhD and Publication’ opportunities, by 2021, and champion opportunities for ‘PhD by Publication’.

Action 13: Working with the SoM’s priority for marketing and communication, we will grow the number of online and distance based taught modules to 20% of all modules in the School by 2023.

Action 14: We will grow micro-credential offerings and stand-alone modules over the next five years.

This will allow for flexibility in teaching by building online and distance-based modules and courses.

Action 15: In association with the SoM’s priority to develop infrastructure we will develop dedicated PG taught and research space.

Additionally, relating to infrastructure development, the team will repurpose and restore the ‘Old Stone Building’ on the St James’s Campus into a flagship Postgraduate space.

Action 16: The recent SoM Quality Review detailed the importance of growing postgraduate opportunities. We will do this by developing new PG taught modules and courses and by integrating entrepreneurship. We will create a new structure within the School to promote synergies and efficiencies within the thematic areas of taught courses by 2021.

Action 17: By working with external stakeholders we will ensure growth by developing the thematic area in entrepreneurship comprising of five PGT courses by building on the Healthcare Innovation and Entrepreneurship Biotech and Pharma courses in collaboration with Tangent and School of Business.

Action 18: By increasing PhD, MD and MSc research student numbers, increasing online taught PG Key Function: Postgraduate Education

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09 Key Function: Research Introduction: The School of Medicine is the leading research School in Trinity, home to over 800 highly diverse researchers and spanning twenty-four medical and scientific disciplines.

Over 90% of the academic staff are highly research active and research income comprises approximately a fifth of the total Trinity research income.

CORE Values: The School’s Research Strategy 2021-2026 reflects the ambition “We will stand up for research, its quality and impact” encapsulated by Goal 4 of TCD’s Strategic Plan 2020-2025. The SoM’s delivery of its research strategy below outlines how the defined SoM priorities overlap with CORE:

We are a research-led School that values cutting-edge innovation and leverages local, national and international collaboration. Our research and educational activity comprise multi-disciplinary partnerships between our researchers and clinicians generating unique synergies to advance basic and translational research at every stage of human life. Underscoring this are the 50% of Senior School PIs who are clinical academics combining their clinical commitments with their academic activities.

• C=Civic Action: School of Medicine research will lead transformation at the heart of Irish health innovation, delivering improvements in health services and patient care to improve good health and well-being as articulated in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We will focus on a blend of curiosity driven and theme-focused strategies that address both fundamental biological questions and health inequities. We will widen and deepen our conversations with stakeholders, patient groups, health NGOs and the public to guide our research towards meaningful impact. We will lead on Open Scholarship and promote Open Access publication.

The School of Medicine Research Strategy 2021-2026 was developed through a detailed and inclusive consultation process undertaken between June 2019 and March 2021.

The development of the SoM’s Strategic Plan 2021-2026 coincides with the publication of the SoM’s first research strategy which details the strategic plan for research over the next five years.

• O=Organisation: To promote excellent research and cutting-edge innovation, we will attract and grow an innovative and diverse multidisciplinary faculty and ensure sustainability of our research infrastructures.

• R=Research: Central to our SoM Research Mission is to support excellent and impactful research to improve health and patient outcomes. Research is at the core of all of our activities and is focused on improving human health and healthcare through a blend of curiosity driven and theme-focused research. We will support ethical research with strong integrity in designated strategic research areas, reflecting national and international developments in biomedical research and healthcare. We value sustainable and responsible breakthrough innovation and the opportunities for local, national, and international collaboration.

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Key Function: Research

• E=Education: We deliver a research-led Undergraduate and Postgraduate education in the SoM that emphasises clinical translation and cuttingedge innovation. This is supported by our network of research institutes and centres, clinical research facility, teaching hospitals and clinical partners. The result is a patient-focused education that aims to train the next generation of clinicians and researchers to the highest standards in clinical and biomedical research.

Actions in SoM Strategic Plan 2021-2026: Our key objectives to advance our research mission are incorporated into 4 key principles and defined actions.

1. Engage in Excellent Research and Promote Cutting Edge Innovation Our ambition is to face global health challenges such as child health, ageing, cancer, global health threats, mental ill-health, weak health systems, health policy and the challenges to health and well-being posed by climate change through the application of our key strengths, combined with new and innovative approaches. We aim for our research to bring tangible benefits to all knowledge users.

In the next five years we will capitalise on our strengths, creative and innovative faculty, and new funding opportunities to grow the impact of our research. We will support our researchers to engage in excellent and impactful research that adheres to the highest standards of ethics and research integrity and to pursue greater innovation and entrepreneurship. Specifically, we will focus on the existing and emerging strategic areas of: • Ageing • Cancer • Children’s Health • Personalised Medicine • Infection & Immunology • Mental Health and Neuroscience • Population Health and Health Policy Our researchers and clinicians will lead national and international research activities of impact in these strategic areas and improve healthcare outcomes for patients and their families. We will build our activities through strong relationships between our research institutes, clinical research facility and our clinical partners at St. James’s and Tallaght University Hospital, and all our allied clinical partners. To ensure our success

in research excellence and innovation we have developed the following actions: Action 19: We will work to provide additional resources for clinical research and sponsorship, legal and finance supports for our Clinical Research Facility and the Cancer Institute through collaboration with Trinity Research and Innovation and the proposed Clinical Trials office.

Action 20: We will create and fill the position of Associate Director for Clinical Research. This post will work on developing strategic plans and Memorandum of Understandings (MoU’s) for clinical research across our clinical partners.

Action 21: We will seek philanthropic investment for biobanking and data management and storage infrastructures towards the development of a bioinformatics centre in TTMI. Action 22: We will establish a Paediatric Health Research Sub-committee, reporting to the Director of Research which will co-ordinate researchers and develop a strategy for paediatric health research at Trinity, and serve as a key contact point for research developments related to Children’s Health Ireland.

Action 23: We will appoint an Associate Director for Research Integrity, Ethics and Open Scholarship. This post will create clear policies and guidelines for our researchers on research integrity, ethics, data protection and governance.

2. Investing in our People and Infrastructures: A diverse and innovative faculty is core to our research mission. We recognise the contributions of researchers at every stage of the research trajectory and the necessity for a viable and sustainable career pathway.

Strategic hires are required to provide necessary expertise in biostatistics and bioinformatics to prepare our researchers to take on the challenges of bioinformatics and data-analytics in Medicine. We will attract world leaders through prestigious schemes such as the SFI Research Professorships, European Research Council, Wellcome Trust, Health Research Board.

We will prioritise research areas for future TCD Assistant Key Function: Research

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Professorship schemes to provide career progression for our early to mid-career researchers and support the development of clinician scientists and the health research leaders of tomorrow through better definition of the roles of clinical lectureships. To invest in our people and infrastructures we aim to: Action 24: Appoint a world leading SFI research professor in a strategic research area.

Action 25: Appoint an internationally recognised chair in Biostatistics by 2022 who will lead the development of a Biostatistics Unit.

Action 26: Work in collaboration with CHI to identify key positions aligned with our research interests in Paediatrics and Child Health.

Action 27: Build the research capacity of our Clinical Lecturer post with the aim, where appropriate, to increase research-focused clinical academic training positions and new tenure-track basic science pathways, similar to the USSHER Assistant Professorship.

Action 28: Establish annual prizes that recognise outstanding contributions to research and the achievements of our Early Career Researchers and post-graduate students.

Action 29: Upscale investment in our critical research infrastructures in biobanking, storage and biocomputing, Genomics, Flow Cytometry, Neuroimaging (CAMI/TCIN) and Microscopy through philanthropy and strategic funding initiatives and the development of improved business models for core facilities.

3. Expanding our research opportunities and success We aim to build on our excellent high-quality research and funding track record to date, as Ireland’s leading Medical School. Strategically we have aligned our funding objectives to the future vision and investment made by the European Commission and national and international funding agencies. Securing continuous improvement and breakthroughs in patients’ health through the life course is at the centre of our School’s investment in research and innovation within and beyond the context of the current global pandemic crisis. To build on our success and expand our opportunities, the following actions apply:

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Key Function: Research

Action 30: We will hold quarterly brokerage and showcasing events between entrepreneurs and innovators, clinical and biomedical researcher the medical and healthcare industry to accelerate the translational impact of our research, build strategic collaborative actions and attract prestigious international funding and industrial partnerships.

Action 31: We will host quarterly training, information and mentoring workshops to inspire and support our researchers to become global research leaders. We will mentor and support early career researchers to successfully obtain high value and prestige funding through Science Foundation Ireland, The European Research Council, Wellcome Trust, the Health Research Board and global charities and foundations.

Action 32: We will build a substantive relationship with Trinity Development and Alumni to amplify our achievements and pivot funding towards impactful research shaped by the needs of the community.

Action 33: We will work with the appropriate college offices to extend the SoM’s translational and multidisciplinary innovative research environments through engagement across several international and European funded research networks.

Action 34: We will seek funding and collaborations from international, national, and local health services to partner on, pilot and evaluate service, system, and policy innovations.

4. Communicating Impact and Societal Outreach Research impact is how our research benefits patients, the public and broader society. Our challenge is to better measure and articulate our impact across the translational research spectrum. Societal outreach and communication of our impact is the cornerstone of our research communication strategy. Key to the successful implementation of improved research communications will be the development of new processes to explore, define, capture, and communicate our research achievements that broadly reflect the societal impact of our health research, within and beyond academia.

The School of Medicine Research Impact Officer, a key role embedded jointly in the TCD Research Impact Unit and the School of Medicine, will build capacity to measure and communicate our SoM research impacts. Over the next five years: Action 35: We will develop a SoM research communications plan that strategically targets our key audiences (funders, health agencies, policy makers and the public) and communication channels (mainstream and social media). Through implementation of the plan we will effectively articulate the scale and scope of our research across the translational research spectrum reflecting the talents and excellence of our researchers.

Action 36: Our Science Communication officer will support the implementation and roll out of the School’s communication strategy in coordination with the Director of Health Policy and Impact, Office of the Dean of Research and the TCD Public Affairs and Communications (PAC) team to maximise the reach to our external stakeholders.

Action 37: We will effectively promote and disseminate the scale and scope of our research impact through research performance reports, an annual health research impact case studies report and the School of Medicine research metrics Book.

Action 38: We will cultivate a culture of communicating our health research impacts through showcasing projects that are making demonstrable positive differences to the health and wellbeing of individuals, the community or across society.

Action 39: We will train and support our researchers to engage with knowledge users in framing research questions and approaches. This will help to develop the work in ways most likely to lead to impact.

Action 40: We will qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate our ability to set the policy agenda, how issues are framed, perceived, and represented in public documents and presentations and the definitive influence on policy.

Key Function: Research

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10 Strategic Plan Priority 1: Medical Curriculum Reform Introduction: Medical Education is evolving rapidly, and the future SoM, while retaining core values, will be global, without walls, incorporating virtual, in-person, digital and simulated learning modalities. Students will be partners in shaping experience across multiple contexts such as community, hospital and civic society. To prepare for this, students will require new skills in the distillation and application of knowledge, in assessment of population level evidence and its interpretation to provide individualised care.

Communication, feedback, reflection and professional identity formation will become cornerstones of the learning process to create a fully integrated and evolving healthcare practitioner connected to their communities.

The external advisors on the SoM’s quality review and the recent Medical Council accreditation recognised that while our established core values remain relevant to this vision, our capacity to enable the future is significantly disadvantaged by an outdated curriculum and educational governance structure. They recommended the SoM undertake an extensive programme of curricular renewal, including designing a more effective and individualised academic support structure; improving communication across settings; increasing student choice and consider the relationship between personal characteristics and differential attainment.

Once established (Action 3), the Discipline of Medical Education will offer academic leadership to the School across these areas and be responsible for the overall quality of the MB programme ensuring its curriculum is distinctive, contemporary and fit for purpose.

The creation of the new curriculum will provide a roadmap for change that identifies where and how the sciences of healthcare and learning intersect on a journey powered by evidence-based medicine and modified by societal needs and demands. As a result, the priority to develop a new curriculum will reach into every area of the SoM’s 22

Strategic Plan Priority 1: Medical Curriculum Reform

activities and ensure our legacy for excellence at all levels is renewed and secured.

Given the extensive work required to design and implement a new curriculum, this action will span the entire five years of the strategic plan implementation process in three phases: design, implementation and institutionalisation.

The design phase of the new curriculum is expected to last 12-18 months with an implementation phase over 3 years and institutionalisation/evaluation phases ongoing after that.

Action 41: The Discipline of Medical Education will review the medical degree to ensure it remains aligned with public and regulatory expectations for the future and provide advice and support to the curricular development process. Curricular design will span the following broad areas: Curricular philosophy, Learning environment, Professional identity, Assessment, Evaluation, Educational data analytics and Faculty development. Curricular review will also consider learning experiences, student journeys, learning, assessment tools, modalities, and resources.

Action 42: As part of the curricular review process, the Discipline of Medical Education and School community including HoDs, faculty and student representatives will develop robust evaluation processes for all aspects of the new curriculum including its impact on; learning, clinical experiences, professional identity, societal engagement, and linkage with healthcare practice.

Action 43: We will align the new curriculum with College’s Equality, Inclusion and Diversity policies, with the fundamentals of the Trinity Education Project and the College Strategic Plan.

11 Strategic Plan Priority 2: Governance Introduction: The SoM is a valuable and valued School in Trinity College with strong leadership and a collegial group of academic and professional staff. However, the SoM is complex with multiple Disciplines, sites across the city and healthcare partners. This complex network has a flat governance structure and is managed and led by the HoS. The current leadership structure overseeing the Educational programmes is distributed, thereby limiting a robust programme for improvement and posing risks for accreditation. Using this rationale, the SoM, with the support of the College, elected to focus the recent Quality Review on governance and management. A reform of the School structures was recommended and approved by the Quality Committee and is reflected in a set of actions developed for the early phase of this strategic plan.

Actions: Taking lead from the recommendations of the Quality review the governance sub-group identified the below actions that will help the SoM improve the current complex and unstructured model: Action 44: The School examined governance structures of leading Irish, UK and European Medical Schools and will develop structures that reflect the need for efficient governance, and the plans and aspirations of the Disciplines.

Further to discussion within the School, two feasible models will be examined and considered to take forward. The first is a model where disciplines with similarities are combined in a smaller number of larger disciplines that will have a greater critical mass and be more efficient. The second is a model were a small number of Divisions are created and that Disciplines with similarities are grouped together within these divisions but retain their present identity.

Action 45: Following agreement on the core model to be adopted, and approval of the model, there will be a further set of discussions to achieve agreement on the best combinations to populate the model with the Disciplines and associated administrative support structures.

Action 3: The School will create a Discipline of Medical Education. This will involve a review of educational governance structure to determine the roles and responsibilities of the new Discipline within the new SoM Governance structures, its relationship to other disciplines, its role in the School committee structures and its key educational roles internally and externally with students and with College.

Action 46: We will support the appointment of the Chief Clinical Academic Officer (CCAO) at Dublin Midlands Hospital Group to coordinate education and research strategy across the region and through this position develop a programme of research, teaching and practice initiatives with Group. This person will advocate for strategically funded HSE posts that will consolidate and strengthen agreements and will represent all undergraduate programmes and clinical placements.

Action 47: We will consult with the Dean of the Faculty and the College authorities to recommend that the position of the HoS is strengthened internationally through being awarded the title Dean of the Medical School.

Strategic Plan Priority 1: Medical Curriculum Reform

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12 Strategic Plan Priority 3: Marketing & Communications Introduction: Marketing and Communications (M&C) are key to supporting the themes of opportunity and growth identified in the Universities Strategic Plan for 20202025 and in turn the SoM’s new Strategic Plan 20212026. The SoM M&C strategy links to all strategic aims across both plans and, as effective internal and external communication, is essential to support the delivery of the strategic objectives and ensure growth targets are met. There is potential to significantly enhance internal communications, promotional activity and public relations using emerging technologies to meet student recruitment targets and support organisational development through encouraging applications for staff vacancies. The strategy for delivering on this priority relies upon extensive cross College support and adherence by all staff to the College’s commitments to achieve aspirations for growth. The M&C priority within the SoM is an area that needs development, and the team met with key stakeholders internally to consider a road map and set of plans that would ensure the development of a methodology that clearly tells the story of the SoM. This can be realised through the following actions: Actions: Action 48: When the funding allows the School will appoint a designated Marketing and Relationships Manager to coordinate and generate usable content. This individual and the Science Communication Officer will coordinate the implementation and roll out of the School’s communication strategy in coordination with the Director of Health Policy and Impact, Office of the Dean of Research and the TCD Public Affairs and Communications (PAC) team to maximise the reach to our external stakeholders.

Action 49: We will improve our online presence by developing a Digital Marketing and Content 24

Strategic Plan Priority 3: Marketing & Communications

Plan increasing engagement rates and number of followers, based on metrics and continual monitoring, adjusting systems to optimise dynamic content - utilising the new University CMS, coding and online tools available Action 50: We will implement a Social Media Policy and Digital Marketing Recommendation Plan, enabling each Unit or Discipline to understand the importance of providing up to date content in order to generate engagement with each cohort, achieving consistent exposure.

Action 35: We will develop and implement a SoM Communications Plan, targeting audiences and channels based on constant feedback, monitoring, measuring and reviewing strategies and channels.

Action 51: We will develop an Internal Network, with one representative for each School Unit/Discipline and students, to facilitate the engagement with School stakeholders, seeking to create content and ensure the delivery to the right audience, channel and message.

13 Strategic Plan Priority 4: Infrastructure Development Introduction: The SoM is spread across multiple sites both within the College campus and adjacent sites. Several major clinical campuses including St James’s Hospital and Tallaght University Hospital are delivering multidisciplinary education across all levels of healthcare and carrying out world-class research. The main SoM office is in the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute (TBSI). The SoM is associated with four major Trinity research institutions, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute (TBSI), Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience (TCIN), Trinity Translational Medicine Institute (TTMI) and the newly established Trinity St James’s Cancer Institute, reflecting its research led ethos. Although each of the separate institutions are thriving the SoM is always looking for further growth opportunities and this can only be realised through the development of infrastructure to facilitate this.

Actions: The actions associated with the development of infrastructure are dependent on financial resource availability. Given the financial difficulties related to the Covid-19 pandemic, the actions associated with this priority cover a wide range of potential developments and cost of implementation. During the period of the Strategic Plan 2021-2025 we intend to proceed with the following:

Action 54: We will develop plans for Trinity Centres for Health Sciences on other hospital sites (Peamount Hospital and St Patrick’s University Hospital).

Action 55: We will support the development of the Trinity St. James’s Cancer Institute on the SJH campus in conjunction with the Discipline of Radiation Therapy.

Action 56: We will support the development of the Children’s Research and Innovation Centre (CRIC) on the SJH campus.

Action 57: We will utilise all space in the IPH in Tallaght and consolidate the centres for Global Health and Health Policy into two locations – one in IPH and the second in the City Centre.

Action 58: We will support the development of a Clinical Research Facility on the TUH campus.

Action 59: We will work with TUH and CHI-Tallaght towards establishing a “wellness village” in Tallaght.

Action 52: We will redevelop/expand/improve the Clinical Skills teaching facilities by investigating the possibility of extension or rebuild on the current site of the Postgraduate Centre linked to the Trinity Centre for Health Sciences building, SJH, a new development on the TUH campus and other options on the major teaching hospital sites.

Action 53: We will commission architectural plans for and begin conservation and redevelopment of the Old Anatomy building into a working museum with an active research programme.

Strategic Plan Priority 4: Infrastructure Development

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14 Strategic Plan Priority 5: Student Support Services Introduction: The SoM provides many supports and resources for students on the main college campus and on affiliated sites. These include strong presence of a guiding faculty, tutors and facilities including study spaces and library access as well as policies and procedure pertinent to their roles as novice healthcare practitioners. However, given the diverse nature of some 15 clinical placement sites, it is essential that supports are reviewed regularly, in conjunction with changes to the Educational programmes and in recognition of the stresses that the contemporary student experience. The subgroup determining actions to support students contained student representation from all years in Undergraduate education and two Postgraduate student representatives.

Actions: The actions for this priority are resource and funding dependent but include the following: Action 60: We will actively strengthen our culture of equality, inclusion, dignity and respect throughout the SoM, this can be achieved by putting processes in place to ensure that differences are recognised and valued, and individuals receive support according to their needs.

Action 61: We will work with the Marketing and Communication committee to engage students in strategic planning and governance structures in the SoM. Action 62: We will create an additional post supporting student welfare.

Action 63: We will work with the College to improve access to tiers of mental health supports including dial-in sessions, group sessions, peer support, counselling and psychiatric 26

Strategic Plan Priority 5: Student Support Services

assessment and treatment. In association with Student Health and the Faculty, we will develop a Mental Health Support programme as a resource and tool for students.

Action 64: We will review the process of scheduling of lectures and clinical placements to ensure lectures and placements are scheduled and communicated to students a minimum of one month in advance Action 65: We will introduce robust procedures for dealing with complaints and addressing issues that arise from student surveys, feedback, ISSE etc and ensure that students are aware of the changes which have been put in place as a result of their feedback.

Action 66: We will ensure that any increase in student numbers is supported by appropriate infrastructure and services (ie: clinical skills, teaching labs, suitable teaching spaces, Trinity centres in Peamount, student common rooms, break rooms, library spaces etc).

15 Strategic Plan Priority 6: External Engagement Introduction: This priority was coordinated and led by the director of Global affairs and External engagement within the SoM. This priority sets about capitalising on the existing and expanding future development of relationships both external and internal to the SoM. Key aspects of this new plan include building external partnerships within the University, nationally and globally to enhance our reputation and our ability to deliver excellence in teaching and in research and ultimately patient care. By building substantive external relationships we will facilitate and support our students and graduates along their pathway of lifelong learning. Offering the substantive experience of the School in the healthcare sector to government and international agencies in order to inform and impact on health policy for the betterment of society. The development of the actions below included extensive consultation and communications with influential stakeholders.

Actions: Action 46: When the funding allows, the School will appoint a designated Marketing and Relationships manager. This individual will co-ordinate the implementation and roll out of the School’s Communication strategy in coordination with the Director of Health Policy and Impact, Office of the Dean of Research and the TCD Public Affairs and Communications (PAC) team and will be responsible for building engagement with our external partners both nationally and globally.

Action 67: We will build a cohort of ten School of Medicine ambassadors who will build stronger relationships in research and education with a specific external School or Research Institute.

Action 46: We will support the appointment of the Chief Clinical Academic Officer (CCAO) at Dublin Midlands Hospital Group to coordinate

education and research strategy across the region and through this position, develop a programme of research, teaching and practice initiatives with the Group. This person will advocate for strategically funded HSE posts that will consolidate and strengthen agreements and will represent all undergraduate programmes and clinical placements.

Action 32: We will continue to build a substantive relationship with Trinity Development and Alumni. Developing this relationship will enable the SoM to amplify achievements and pivot funding towards impactful research shaped by the needs of the community.

Action 68: We will identify leading international academic institutions who share the School’s research and education vision and build close working relationships which would include fostering Research collaboration, Undergraduate and Postgraduate student exchange, harness the expertise in both Institutions in Health Policy and Engagement, work towards awarding of joint Postgraduate programmes. Under this action we will develop Bi-Lateral agreements to further Human Health and Disease research careers.

Action 69: We will build Clinical Research capacity across the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group which will facilitate research work with pharmaceutical and medical device companies to test and evaluate innovations.

Action 70: We will promote a research agenda focussed on bringing evidence to healthcare policy and policy implementation both nationally and with relevant international bodies (WHO, EU, OECD).

Strategic Plan Priority 6: External Engagement

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16 Implementation

Strategic planning within the SoM is an iterative process that evolves over time. The 2021- 2026 plan is a road map that will grow organically as the SoM adapts to both expected and unexpected challenges. The detailed actions listed above are ambitious but attainable and with enough agility and flexibility built in to allow for continuous review and improvement. The SoM has been faced with unprecedented challenges as a result of a global pandemic. The SoM like other leading ducational institutes has adapted to deliver high quality healthcare professional education under very difficult circumstances. As Ireland emerges from the pandemic, there will undoubtedly be additional challenges to the implementation of the plan not least, financial constraints.

Added to this is that over the last decade the University sector had seen a substantial reduction in Government financial support with the College becoming ever more reliant on non-exchequer income. The SoM is heavily reliant on international student fees to compensate for

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Implementation

restrictions in Government funding and to fund the many new initiatives in this plan.

Action 71: We will put in place an implementation group, who will be tasked with keeping the plan active, and in sequencing the various initiatives included in the plan.

Action 72: A full review of progress will be conducted on a yearly basis and will highlight the challenges encountered and propose solutions to enable progress to be made. These reviews will be reported to and discussed with the School Executive, the Dean of Health Sciences and Faculty, Quality Office, Executive Officers, and where appropriate, the Provost and the University Council and Board.

17 Conclusion

The core elements and ethos behind the School Mission will remain the SoM’s focus. The graduate attributes and the goal to generate individuals who embrace critical thinking and outstanding professional and ethical standards is underpinned by the embedding of education within an internationally recognised leading researchintensive environment.

A focused aim of the SoM has always been to foster lifelong learning in its graduates, combining its educational activity with its other missions for high-quality patient care, research excellence and new knowledge generation.

The School’s ethos encourages the promotion of

individuals who, through self-efficacy and outstanding clinical, professional and ethical standards, have the skills to become leaders in their chosen field of practice and fulfil health service roles with distinction.

During the five-year period of this Strategic Plan, the SoM will continue to develop medical and healthcare education through ongoing curricular reform, increased impactful research activity, enhanced multidisciplinary collaboration, engagement with internal and external partners, development of teaching and research infrastructure and organisational development and growth.

Conclusion

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Published by: School of Medicine Trinity College Dublin Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute 152 - 160 Pearse St, Dublin 2 D02 R590, Ireland

Phone: Email: Web: Twitter:

+353 1 234 5000 research.medicine@tcd.ie https://www.tcd.ie/medicine/ @TrinityMed1

September 2021