SURGICAL SPIRIT

Based in Dublin and listed in the top 250 of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) has a reputation for excellence in teaching and research in health sciences. Its international student body and degree programmes make RCSI uniquely placed to embrace collaboration and research exchange globally.

RCSI received its Charter in 1784 in order to help establish professional standards in surgery. “We are now an independent degree-awarding institution and a university of medicine and health sciences,” says Professor Hannah McGee, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. RCSI encompasses Ireland’s largest medical school and awards degrees in medicine, pharmacy, physiotherapy, and nursing and midwifery. Postgraduate studies include healthcare leadership and research degrees.

The college welcomes students from over 70 countries, who help shape its outlook. “We train doctors, pharmacists and physiotherapists to be part of a global cohort,” says Professor McGee. “Our international alumni network offers support and insight to enhance career opportunities.”

RCSI is noted for its high-impact transitional research. “For instance, we have bioengineers working with anatomy on stem cell and collagen development, and bone regeneration,” says Professor McGee. “This gives us intellectual property in product and process development.” A further boost to its translational research agenda is the recent Strategic Academic Recruitment initiative – a €50 million investment in new research talent focused on advancing early and mid-career research leaders.

INTERNATIONAL REACH

As one of the four royal surgical colleges (alongside London, Edinburgh and Glasgow) in the British Isles, RCSI runs inter- collegiate examinations in surgery in Ireland, as well as the Middle East and the Far East. “In 2016, we graduated 450 doctors in Dublin, Dubai, Bahrain and Malaysia,” says Professor McGee. “They followed the same curriculum, sat the same exams in real time and were marked with the same level of scrutiny.”

A new €80 million building includes simulation facilities that allow RCSI’s healthcare students to develop their skills in a self-regulated environment. Postgraduate surgical students and other specialists can also train and re-certify for career-long accreditation.

As Professor McGee concludes: “Our focus is on championing our international expertise to create a nurturing student experience in a research-rich and clinically focused institution.”