21.08.20
Four new NIHR Incubators formed to support academic research
As part of efforts to support and advocate academic research careers, NIHR has launched four new incubators in the fields of clinical education, advanced surgical technology, mental health and methodology.
Identified as areas of strategic need and importance to NIHR, the new NIHR Incubators will encourage networking, training and career development support in areas which need a community driven approach to increase academic research capacity.
The four new NIHR Incubators are:
Clinical Education Incubator – This incubator will promote the value and attractiveness of clinical education research as an esteemed career destination. As the content of practice and ways of delivering healthcare services changes, clinical education must also fundamentally change to ensure professionals are best educated.
The incubator will seek to develop a multi-professional community of high calibre researchers across academic career stages, leading education research which can anticipate and solve practice challenges.
Advanced Surgical Technology Incubator – This incubator will create and develop a highly-skilled multi-disciplinary operating theatre research workforce working across clinical, academic and commercial domains.
A national clinical-scientific-industrial consortium, including the Royal College of Surgeons, NIHR Brain Injury MedTech Co-operative and NIHR Surgical MedTech Co-operative, it will aim to increase research capacity and future leadership training for those who will shape and deliver research into surgical technology, with a particular focus on the challenges we are to face post-coronavirus.
Mental Health Incubator – This incubator will look to increase capacity in mental health research. With academics in mental health desperately needed to help solve increasing levels of mental health problems in the population, the incubator will showcase mental health research and careers, sharing training opportunities for those interested in mental health research.
Methodology Incubator – This incubator’s focus will be on how best to attract researchers into careers in methodological disciplines and how to then support training and further specialisation to specific applied methodological areas. Particular attention will be paid to gaps in the field of methodology disciplines, applied methodology areas and career progression.
Statistics and economics have been prioritised as a focus for the incubator in the first year, with eight workstreams in progress, which are set to explore the wider issues and complexities around research capacity development for methodology within NIHR.
The NIHR Incubators are supported by the NIHR Academy, but each also remains bespoke to meet the individual needs of the research community it is serving.
Professor Dave Jones, Dean of NIHR Academy, said, "It is fantastic to welcome these new Incubators. They will provide a community driven approach to making a difference to capacity building in these strategically important areas for health and social care research."