Earlier this year, the School of Nursing and Health Sciences were delighted to have been awarded in-principle accreditation by the Singapore Nursing Board to deliver a BSc Nursing and Health top-up programme in partnership with CSM Academy International, Singapore.
Designed for Singapore nurses with a diploma to top this up to a degree, the programme was developed by Nursing and Health Sciences academics, supported greatly by professional services staff from the School, and in collaboration with Singapore Nurse Leaders and Educators.
Using a blended approach of in-country visits for face-to-face intensive teaching and distance learning, this two-year programme welcomed its first 26 students in September, a hugely exciting moment for everyone involved.
The first module was Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, with lectures delivered in person by Dr Emma Burnett, programme and module lead, who thoroughly enjoyed meeting the new students for the first time. Initial anxieties about how they would adapt to the range of teaching methods and module content soon disappeared. They were eager to learn and interact with the learning material, as well as each other.
Following the teaching visit, and after a short break, Emma stayed in Singapore and was joined by Professor Lynn Kilbride, Dean of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences, as part of a profile-raising campaign on behalf of the University. The pair first delivered a lecture at the National Skin Centre about ensuring effective communication among healthcare professionals, patients and the public, and over the following days Emma visited a number of hospitals and healthcare organisations to deliver lectures on antimicrobial resistance and infection prevention and control practice.
These lectures were all very well received and generated lots of questions and comments, and in addition a further event was held to promote the wide range of programmes offered by different Schools in the University.
On September 21st, Lynn was invited to represent the University of Dundee and deliver an evening lecture at the prestigious British Council World Speakers Series. The talk, entitled ‘Ensuring High Quality Healthcare through Education,’ was well attended by a range of education and healthcare professionals, sparking a great deal of discussion. Our academics then attended the three-day Times Higher World Academic Summit at NUS, Singapore, a busy event which included a range of interviews, debates and discussions.
“Our month in Singapore was just incredible,” said Emma. “We were overwhelmed by the enthusiasm shown by our new students and getting to spend some time in the classroom with them was hugely enjoyable.
“Although our programme kept us very busy for most parts, we were still able to have some down time to explore this beautiful city and sample some of its exquisite cuisine. This is just the start of our new course in Singapore and it has been incredibly exciting to help get it off the ground.
“I can’t wait to continue working with our new students.”
