Health Care Innovation and Technology



Overview

The recent pace of innovation in healthcare is unprecedented. Rapid advances in many fields promise to disrupt current surgical care.

The recent “Future of Surgery” report, from the Royal College of Surgeons, considered the changes that are occurring and how they will impact on patients, surgeons and the health service over the next 20 years. The Commission identified four areas that will have the greatest impact:

  1. Minimally-invasive surgery
  2. Imaging, virtual reality and augmented reality
  3. Big data, genomics and artificial intelligence
  4. Specialised interventions (e.g. 3D bioprinting, nano-surgery, artificial organs)

The Healthcare Innovation and Technology course provides insight into these different areas of innovation and explores both the challenges and opportunities they provide. Students will develop an understanding of the innovation pathway and develop translatable skills in idea generation, needs analysis, evaluation of innovation, developing a business case and pitching it. Students will also explore the challenges to adapting to new innovations in their day to day practice. 

The course is offered by the Nuffield Department of Surgical Science and Department for Continuing Education, the taught week is led by Mr Matthew Gardiner and Mr Ryan Kerstein.

The modest class size allows most sessions to be interactive. The week includes a visit to Intuitive and exposure to surgical robots and virtual reality simulation. During the week teams will put together a case for an innovation and finish the week with a pitching session and feedback. The groups will also explore aspects of coping with innovation and introducing innovations to the healthcare environment.

Tutors are available for mentoring and some offer topics for the main dissertation. The course is supported by a virtual learning environment with course material made available in advance.

The Healthcare Innovation and Technology course has a large faculty drawing on expertise from across academia, healthcare and business.

Previous Faculty have included (programme can vary)

  • Anant Jani, working within the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences
  • Jim Gabriel, director of The Hill, which is an innovation catalyst, embedded within Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
  • Katrina Mason, London Digital Pioneer Fellow. Her project involves the application and development of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
  • Umar Taj, founder of Nudgeathon™,
  • Jeremy Rodrigues, Associate Professor at the Warwick Clinical Trials unit and Consultant Hand and Plastic Surgeon at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust.
  • Jennifer Lane, NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer at Barts
  • Nick de Pennington, CEO and Founder of Ufonia - an Oxford start-up that is developing autonomous telemedicine.
  • Constantin Coussios, OrganOx Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer
  • Rachel Grovenor, Assistant Licensing & Ventures Manager at OUI
  • Michael Richard, heads Insight Surgery’s Engineering Department
  • Megan Morys-Carter, Programme Director of The Hill

 

Programme details

This course can be taken:

Venue

This course will be held at the Department for Continuing Education, Rewley House, Oxford, with a day spent at one of Oxford's hospital sites.

Certification

Short course participants who submit a module assignment and achieve a pass, and within two years enrol in an award-bearing course (e.g. MSc, PGDip, PGCert) which includes the module, may request exemption from re-taking the module. 

Short course participants who do not wish to undertake the written assignment but who do satisfy the course attendance requirements will receive a certificate of attendance.

Fees

Description Costs
22-23 & earlier enrolled - MSc in Surgical Science and Practice £2545.00
22-23 & earlier enrolled - PG Cert in Patient Safety £2545.00
23-24 enrolled - MSc in Surgical Science and Practice £2645.00
23-24 enrolled -PC in Patient Safety and Quality Improvement £2645.00
24-25 enrolled - MSc in Surgical Science and Practice £2725.00
24-25 enrolled -PC in Patient Safety and Quality Improvement £2725.00
Short course in Surgical Science and Practice £3390.00
Students enrolled on the MSc in Surgical Science and Practice £2570.00
Students enrolled on the PG Cert in Patient Safety £2570.00

Funding

Potential sources of funding for courses in Surgical Science and Practice.

Details of funding opportunities including grants, bursaries and scholarships are available on our sources of funding page.

Payment

The course fee includes:

  • Tuition
  • Course materials
  • A day at one of Oxford's hospital sites to use the surgical simulator
  • Refreshments and a three-course lunch on each day of the course
  • Access to the following University of Oxford libraries and services:
    • Radcliffe Science Library
    • Rewley House Continuing Education Library
    • Bodleian Libraries e-Resources
  • Access to facilities from the Department for Continuing Education, including:
    • The Graduate School
    • Canvas virtual learning environment
    • Wi-fi access through Oxford Wireless LAN (OWL).

Stand Alone fees for March 2026 will be £3,390 

Tutors

Dr Matthew Gardiner

Module Coordinator

Matt Gardiner is a Consultant Hand and Plastic Surgeon and Associate Medical Director for Research and Innovation at Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust. He is also Honorary Departmental Senior Research Fellow at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, University of Oxford. Here his research interests include surgical trials and device innovation for the treatment of common hand conditions. He co-founded the Reconstructive Surgery Trials Network and is the RCS Surgical Specialty Lead for Plastic and Hand Surgery trials. He has successfully commercialised a hand surgery system and holds a patent for a new device to treat thumb base osteoarthritis.

Mr Ryan Kerstein

Co Module Lead

Ryan Kerstein is a Consultant Plastic Surgeon and Associate Medical Director of Research and Innovation at Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire, an NHS Clinician Entrepreneur Fellow and the Technology Editor and Writer for the Royal College of Surgeon (Eng) Bulletin journal. 

Ryan has been involved in medical Innovation for the last 17 years, including founding his own healthcare start-ups. His first, ASep Healthcare Ltd, was setup in 2004 to commercialise Tournistrip, a single-use tourniquet Ryan designed as a student. They have sold over 60 million Tournistrips in 30 countries. More recently, during the COVID pandemic, Ryan was a Co-Founder of WeShare.Healthcare, a social enterprise to rapidly share clinical innovation to help unlock NHS services. Ryan is also an advisor to several start-ups in the healthcare sector.

Assessment methods

Assessment is by written assignment.

 

Application

Application deadline: eoght weeks before the commencement of the course.

This course is part of the MSc in Surgical Science and Practice. To learn more about the course, including how to apply, please visit the programme page

Selection criteria

To apply for this course you should:

  • hold a primary qualification in medicine recognised by the GMC and the MRCS, or an equivalent diploma in basic surgical training and education degree in the case of overseas candidates
  • currently occupy or have occupied a training or service post at ST1 level or above (UK candidates), or provide evidence of basic surgical training including a logbook (overseas candidates)
  • possess an entry level qualification for specialist training in surgery, e.g. MRCS or international equivalent
  • show evidence of several years of accumulated practical surgical training
  • be able to combine intensive classroom learning with the application of the principles and practices within the work place
  • demonstrate a suitable level of English (if this is not your first language).

Accommodation

Accommodation is available at the Rewley House Residential Centre, within the Department for Continuing Education, in central Oxford. The comfortable, en-suite, study-bedrooms have been rated as 4-Star Campus accommodation under the Quality In Tourism scheme, and come with tea- and coffee-making facilities, free Wi-Fi access and Freeview TV. Guests can take advantage of the excellent dining facilities and common room bar, where they may relax and network with others on the programme.

IT requirements

This course uses the Department’s online assignment submission system and online courseware. In order to participate in the course, and to prepare and submit your course assignments you will need access to the Internet and a computer meeting our recommended minimum computer specification. Students of this course may use the student computing facilities provided in Departmental buildings.

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support