Top Imperial academics in new online research skills programme

Spin out company launches new interactive courses for early researchers - News

Tuesday 26 June 2007
By Naomi Weston

Leading academics from Imperial College London including Lord Winston, from the Division of Surgery, Oncology, Reproductive Biology and Anaesthetics and Professor Peter Barnes, from the National Heart and Lung Institute, give tips to early researchers across the UK as part of a new online skills training programme. The online courses were launched by a College spin-out company, Epigeum Ltd, this month.

Epigeum Ltd, an e-learning company spun out in March 2005, by Imperial Innovations, the College’s technology commercialisation and investment company, have released the first instalment of courses on subjects such as ethics, research governance, getting published and project management.

Providing interactive learning and video interviews with academics, the online courses enable researchers who cannot attend traditional workshops to access material whenever it is needed. In addition, the courses contain documentaries, dramas and comedy sketches.

Lord Winston discuses research ethics as part of the course and Professor Peter Barnes gives advice to researchers on how to get published in academic journals. Other Imperial staff and academics involved include Graham Christ and Andrey Timoshkin from the Tanaka Business School, Gary Roper from the Faculty of Medicine, and Professor Chris Toumazou, Director of the Institute of Biomedical Engineering.

The course on project management, for example, introduces traditional project management methodologies and illustrates how these tools and techniques apply in the research context. Subjects covered include planning and stakeholders, implementation and project concept.

David Babington-Smith, Managing Director of Epigeum Ltd said: "These new courses are a first class alternative for researchers who cannot attend traditional workshops. They are engaging to work through and have tips from real experts - this is crucial in making online learning a positive and sustainable alternative to workshops. These courses are a taster of what technology now enables us to achieve."

The project is supported by seven leading UK universities, who provided co-funding, and gave advice on the curriculum. They include Cambridge, Kings, UCL, Durham, Reading, Cardiff and Birmingham.

For more information on Epigeum Ltd and the online courses visit the website: www.epigeum.co.uk