Over the last month, our team have been busy preparing for an exciting change in the Education Core. We are pleased to announce that we will be offering fully funded places for University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian staff and students from August 2023. NHS Lothian Research & Development has supported this initiative, and it is thanks to them that there is the funding available for this.
We are passionate that education is an essential component of clinical research delivery. It is required not only to ensure individuals have the tools and knowledge required to perform in their roles, but also to provide inspiration to develop new ideas, enhance practice and showcase excellence. Removing financial barriers to attend the majority of our courses, therefore, seemed like an obvious move. After negotiation and reconfiguring workloads, we are delighted to be able to make this a reality for the local research community.
A quick note here, whilst we would love to apply this to all our courses, some of our more specialist courses will not have fully funded places available. In addition, there is a limit to our budget and as such the number of funded places available on eligible courses has to be restricted. Please be reassured though, the ratio of funded to non-funded places is definitely weighted in the local community’s favour (first come – first served though)!
It has been surprising how this seemingly simple idea has had a significant impact on all our administration workflows and processes. We have changed all our booking forms, our website, our backend systems, waiting list processes and all our standard communication emails. We have worked through and tested our new processes thoroughly, but as with any new change, please bear with us if there are teething problems!
Our biggest fear is that, despite this great opportunity, individuals may fail to appreciate there are still costs associated with running courses, and as they individually haven’t paid anything, they may make attending a low priority and either not show up or cancel at the last minute. We have tried to make our procedures as robust as possible to mitigate this risk, but we know this is not foolproof. So, we need your help! Whilst we definitely want you to make the most of this, we do ask you to be mindful when booking a place on one of our courses. 
Is it the most suitable course for you? Can you fit it in your busy schedule? Remember, we are a very friendly team, so if you want to discuss anything (such as content, target audience etc.) prior to committing to a place, please do get in touch.
We predict that the funded places will be very popular. We will have a specific waiting list for funded places in place. Please do let us know as soon as possible if you need to cancel your place so someone else can make the most of the opportunity. You are very welcome to pay for a place on a course if there are no funded places left, but be warned – to reduce administrative burden, we will not be able to organise refunds for people who have already paid if a funded place then becomes available.
Finally, please make the most of this opportunity! We will be evaluating this new endeavour by looking at attendance figures, financial viability and suitability of audience. Giving feedback on post-course evaluation forms will also help determine the impact of this change.
Together, let’s prove that it is a sustainable and beneficial model going forward!!
Please read our full terms and conditions for funded places.
Finally, why not check out our upcoming courses?
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