Welcome to the second cohort of researchers at UCL!
On Monday 29th September, CDT staff were pleased to finally meet seven new PhD researchers to the Centre for Doctoral Training in Digital Health Technologies. All new UCL researchers were provided with an overview of the programme and studentship benefits at the CDT Induction, as well as the opportunity to meet their peers.
This year we welcome students that are yet to define their research and begin the programme from an exploratory perspective but also others that were recruited with a pre-defined research topic. In this first year of the programme, each student will engage with core and optional modules in Term 1 and Term 2 before participating in a 3 month clinical or industrial secondment. These activities are designed to build on skills gaps in preparation for their research and our students will also participate in 4 intensive training weeks, hosted rotationally across UCL and UU (including sessions such as MedTech & Innovation, Ethics, MatLab and PPIE).
Following the induction event, our researchers (both new and current!) headed with UCL and Ulster University staff for the first CDT Social of the year at Flight Club Bloomsbury.
tech4health CDT staff and students at social event
As part of the induction week, UCL researchers also received lectures on tech4health themes as an introduction to the programme. Starting with a lecture on Treatment and Care Optimization from Dr Steve Harris (Critical Care Consultant at UCLH and leading the software development for the NIHR Health Informatics Collaborative Critical Care theme), highlighting the necessary collaboration between technical and clinical staff in healthcare.
UCL then welcomed Professor Jim McLaughlin (Director of NIBEC and Professor of Bioengineering at Ulster University and recent Fellow of Royal Academy of Engineering) to speak on the diagnostic and prognostic indications, introducing our researchers to the world of wearables and sensor technologies.
The CDT is excited for the new cohort of UCL and UU researchers to meet one another virtually over the next few weeks.
Finally, congratulations to all of the new cohort – we wish you every success on your PhD journey!