We encourage research and innovation within the MBBS programme from within King’s, from our partners who teach in clinical settings and those who are not linked to medical education at King’s. If you are planning to conduct a medical education research project within the MBBS curriculum, you will need to contact the Curriculum Innovation Group before you start.
The Curriculum Innovation Group (CIG) is part of the evolving research governance structure within the GKT School of Medical Education and you will need approval from them to get access to the MBBS curriculum, our students and our staff. The CIG is established as the School reinvigorates its strategic development and engagement with medical education research and scholarship as a core obligation of teaching faculty/ academics. The MBBS programme is a key site for this research. As guardians of the curriculum, we need to ensure that students and staff are not over-burdened with requests for involvement in research studies and that these do not disrupt learning, teaching, and assessments. The quality of the student experience must be maintained, even as we endeavour to improve it.
Guardianship also involves ensuring that research that is undertaken aligns with the educational priorities of the School and is of benefit to students, medical educators, and the Faculty.
Key priorities include research aligning with the Kings Strategic Vision 2019, in particular the aims to:
- Educate to inspire and improve
- Research to inform and innovate
We also emphasize the need for research studies to share their findings in ways that contribute to scholarly debates about the curriculum, learning, teaching and assessment practices and when appropriate inform enhancements to the curriculum. To achieve this we will want researchers to report their work within the School both during and at the end of a project, as requested by the CIG. We intend this process to be of mutual benefit to The School of Medical Education and researchers.
How do prospective researchers submit their proposal?
Researchers anticipating undertaking a study within the MBBS curriculum must submit a Curriculum Innovation Group Application form to cig@kcl.ac.uk. The Curriculum Innovation Group will then:
- Review the proposal and respond to applicants to either accept or decline the research.
- Provide a summary explaining their decision, including further guidance as appropriate.
- Provide guidance on how approved research studies are to report within the School. This will include presentations at research meetings and for some projects, reporting to a School steering group. The latter will apply more frequently to larger studies and externally funded studies.
Please note that ethical approval from Kings College London (or another ethical committee) does not guarantee access to undertake research within the MBBS. Only CIG approval provides access to undertaking research within the MBBS programme.