COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AND VETERINARY MEDICINE
Postgraduate Offer-holders
Online Distance Learners’ eZine
In this issue Nina Kominiak Student, MSc Equine Science
“I couldn’t be happier with my choice of postgraduate studies.” Page 1
AUGUST Uzma Tufail-Hanif Academic eFacilitator
“Students who conduct an exceptionally good research study would be able to get their work published in a peer-reviewed journal.”
2015 #EdinMedVetsPG Academic tips Farmers’ markets
COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AND VETERINARY MEDICINE
Welcome
In this issue
August is a busy month over here in Edinburgh and so are we with processing all the applications, but also trying to ensure everyone gets their postcard. You should have received yours already, but if you haven’t, don’t panic – you will receive it soon.
Welcome .......................................................................2
Wait no more, grab your camera and take a picture with the postcard! We can’t wait to see all your amazing photos.
News from around the University..................................4
Hello,
In this issue, we have prepared two inspiring interviews – one with Nina Kominiak, who is an Equine Science student, and another one with Uzma Tufail-Hanif, Academic eFacilitator of two surgery programmes. We also have an article about Edinburgh’s farmers’ markets, which have become quite a tradition in the city. Perhaps you will decide to visit one day, and the farmers’ markets are among the best places to go for quality shopping!
Latest research news.....................................................3
Student perspective Interview with Nina Kominiak, MSc in Equine Science..............................................................5 #EdinMedVetsPG..........................................................6
We hope we’ve made you feel ready to start your studies and wish you good luck on your journey to online study with the University.
Academic matters
See you soon,
Interview with Uzma Tufail-Hanif, Academic eFacilitator......................................................................7
The Postgraduate Team
Photo
Helping your academic development...........................8 Social Discover the University community...............................9 Featured: Our Student Bloggers...................................9 Edinburgh Farmer’s markets.........................................10
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Latest Research News Humans evolved to be taller and smarter
Gene therapy hope for CF patients
Animal’s infections impact on others
People have evolved to be smarter and taller than their predecessors, a study of populations around the world suggests. Those who are born to parents from diverse genetic backgrounds tend to be taller and have sharper thinking skills than others, the major international study has found.
Gene therapy can improve lung function in cystic fibrosis patients, a clinical trial has found. A treatment that replaces the faulty gene responsible for cystic fibrosis has produced encouraging results in a major UK trial.
Disease in wild animals can impact more on the health of others than on the infected animals themselves. Research in families of wild seabirds reveals for the first time how parasite infection in some can have a serious effect on how well their relatives do, Edinburgh research shows.
Read more Read more
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Read more
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News from Around the University Summer graduations
University at heart of festivals
Headset aimed at stargazers
Our summer graduation ceremonies took place between Saturday 27 June and Saturday 4 July, 2015. A motor neuron disease (MND) campaigner, an acclaimed writer and historian, and a former First Minister of Scotland are among those who received honorary awards.
The University is playing a starring role throughout the Edinburgh festivals this August. Festival events with University involvement include an awe-inspiring opening concert, talks from world-renowned political figures and debut plays written by students. There will also lively debates with academics and an exhibition on Dolly the sheep.
Edinburgh astronomers have combined a virtual reality headset with software to enable anyone to explore the night sky. Scientists have combined the Oculus Rift system with open-source Stellarium software to enable users with the technology and an internet connection to explore the heavens.
Read more
Read more
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Follow The University of Edinburgh Although you have not arrived yet, you can be part of what’s going on at Edinburgh even now. Join here!
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Student Perspective Nina Kominiak talks about her passions and sums up one of the most important points: the key to success as an online learner is prior and proper planning. Nina Kominiak, MSc in Equine Science
My name is Nina Kominiak and I am studying Equine Science here at the Edinburgh. I live in the gorgeous state of Tennessee in the south-eastern United States but I was born in Finland. Tennessee is not only famous for Memphis and Elvis Presley but we also have the country music capital of the world - Nashville, as well as the area is perfect for horse lovers. The picture is of me and my Quarter Horse Mr. Peanut who is mainly a dressage horse. How are you finding your day-to-day student & work life? Besides studying, I also work full-time in the technical field and run my own, small horse training facility, Sliding Stops Farm. There are days when it is challenging to get everything done on time, and there has been some very long nights spent by reading and writing papers. However, I have rather good time management skills and when it is time to work on my studies, I can stay very focused on those tasks. The key definitely is prior and proper planning. On the other hand, I truly enjoy my programme of study so it is also terribly easy to stay motivated since each week I am eager to learn more and love reading and writing the papers. I also have been going to the school for a very long time: I have a few other science degrees so studying is like a second nature to me. Describe in a word or two that sums up how you felt last September/Oct when you started your studies. Excited! I was very thrilled about the opportunity to study in this programme, and the university is making online learning extremely pleasant and easy. The excellence and high quality of the university’s online learning environment allows students to focus on the most important: their studies.
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COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AND VETERINARY MEDICINE
“I truly enjoy my programme of study so it is also terribly easy to stay motivated since each week I am eager to learn more and love reading and writing the papers.” I personally was blown away by the easiness and availability of the information at the time when I started. It was easy to find answers to all my questions and the virtual learning environment is easy to navigate. Is your student experience what you expected it to be or is it completely different? It is a lot better than what I expected! I have taken quite a few online courses throughout my studies at various universities as well as I have taught online classes as an adjunct instructor myself. The university is definitely working very hard trying to make the online programme students to form cohorts, and it is working great at least in the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies. All the courses are very well planned and professors and instructors are extremely committed to support the student success. I couldn’t be happier with my choice of postgraduate studies. Tell me what your plans are for after your programme finishes, write out a word or two that sums up how you feel now about the future. My future plans after finishing the Equine Science programme include teaching Equine Science in a university or college, contributing to the equine research as well as completing my doctoral studies in biology. Also, I am eager to incorporate my learnings to the horse training. Although I have been working with horses all my life in various capacities from competing to training, and that way gained a vast amount of information and experience, there is a lot of scientific research that can have a significant impact on how we can take the best possible care of these animals and how to train them efficiently.
#EdinMedVetsPG
COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AND VETERINARY MEDICINE
Have you received your postcard yet? We’ve sent out these postcards to all our offer-holders, so one of them should also land on your doorstep! Take a pen or a marker, fill in your one word that describes how you feel about starting your studies with us and join others in sharing their photos holding the postcard on social media! If you cannot post your photo on social media, we will happily do that for you - just send the photo to mvmpg@ed.ac.uk along with your name and country where you live. We’re looking forward to seeing all your amazing photos! Don’t forget to add the hashtag #EdinMedVetsPG.
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Academic Matters
COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AND VETERINARY MEDICINE
Uzma Tufail-Hanif, Academic eFacilitator of two surgery programmes, talks about the vital role the programmes can play in the academic development of surgical trainees who want to study while continuing to pursue their career. Uzma Tufail-Hanif, Academic eFacilitator
What is unique about your programme?
Tell me a little about yourself.
Our suite of 5 surgical distance learning programmes have been developed to meet the needs of today’s surgical trainees and to fit alongside professional development and examination. Thus students are able to access the programme content and participate in asynchronous discussions at a time and place suited to them. Importantly, since our programmes are delivered online and only require part-time study, they enable the trainees to obtain an academic degree without the need to take time out of their surgical training or clinical practice. Our programmes are delivered using bespoke virtual learning environments and the suite of surgical distance learning programmes was recognised by the Queens Anniversary Prize in 2014, an award widely regarded as the highest national honour in UK education.
My name is Uzma Tufail-Hanif. I gained my Honours degree and then a PhD in Respiratory Medicine from the University of Edinburgh. Prior to my current role, I was involved in delivering clinical case based tutorials for undergraduate medical students. I then moved into my current post as Academic eFacilitator for two of the Master of Surgery programmes which are delivered online by Edinburgh University in partnership with the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. What is your average day like? There is no such thing as an average day when it comes to delivering an online programme since the nature of my role means that I have a variety of responsibilities. Being an online programme, email is the mainstay of our communications so my day will often begin with responding to emails. I also interact regularly with the virtual learning environments to ensure courses are on track and also monitor how students are progressing. I also have to ensure marks and feedback are made available to students in accordance with the University policy. In addition to keeping the programmes running, I also take an active role in student recruitment both from an applications perspective as well as marketing.
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What do you hope your students will get out of the programmes to help them in their future career path? Whilst the MSc programme is aligned with the curriculum for Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons (MRCS), our ChM programmes are designed specifically for the advanced trainee approaching Fellowship of the Royal College of
“The best students are those who establish a good workhome-study balance early on and participate in discussions on a regular basis.�
COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AND VETERINARY MEDICINE
Academic Matters (continued)
Helping your Academic Development
Surgeons examination (FRCS) and consultancy. Our programmes therefore support surgical trainees in attaining their professional milestones as they progress through the surgical training pathway. Students are able to discuss challenging yet interesting and relevant topics and they also develop the ability to critically evaluate the scientific literature in surgical research in order to make informed judgements on new and emerging issues in surgery. The student is then given an opportunity to put these skills into practise when undertaking their own research project during their time on the programme. We would anticipate that students who conduct an exceptionally good research study would be able to get their work published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Getting started as an online student
What is your idea of an ideal student of your programmes? An ideal student will actively engage with all aspects of the programme they have enrolled on. Students need to plan their studies so that they are able to dedicate around 15 hours per week on their programme-related studies. The best students are those who establish a good work-home-study balance early on and participate in discussions on a regular basis. We recognise that their clinical practice can mean that a student can sometimes have a particularly busy period at work and as such not engage as much. However, the ideal student would ensure that they find time to catch up on anything they have missed. It is important that students understand what is required of them throughout the programme and they are encouraged to take advantage of the dedicated support the ESSQ team offers throughout.
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The essential guide for new online distance learning students featuring info on academic support, the students’ association and lots of useful links. Download and save this PDF now!
iad4masters blog The Institute for Academic Development runs a blog for all Masters’ students at the University of Edinburgh where it informs of relevant workshops and information sessions for postgraduates. Follow the blog here to get informed about dissertation workshops, academic writing workshops and to gain access to many other helpful resources for your studies.
Useful info for Online Distance Learning students Go to this page to get help with accessing your email, Ease and MyEd. You can also get help with getting your student card and using the library.
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Discover the University community through films, blogs and social media. Click on the icons below: A community where we encourage offer-holders speak to each other online. Click here if you are on a taught programme and here if you are on a research programme! Keep up to date with the latest news from the Postgraduate Office.
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We have our own channel and are adding student experience films all the time. Take a sneak peak at postgraduate life through our students. View our e-zines featuring interviews and key information for applicants.
Edinburgh city Farmers’ markets in Edinburgh by Brian Burgon If you come here for your graduation or even before, Edinburgh has a great selection of farmers’ markets to explore. One of the longest running farmers markets’ within the city is the “Edinburgh Farmers Market” which you can find at Castle Terrace. This market is on every Saturday all year round from 9am to 2pm. You can pick up anything from wild boar burgers and smoked salmon to freshly baked bread or locally brewed craft ale. Valvona & Crolla also have a stall here, a main staple for foodies. You can enjoy all of this whilst you are treated to amazing views of Edinburgh Castle. There are farmers’ markets also in Leith and the Grassmarket on Saturdays starting at 10am to 5pm, you can also visit a market at Stock Bridge at the same time on Sundays. Here you can find food and beauty products and other really interesting stalls.
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COLLEGE OF MEDICINE AND VETERINARY MEDICINE
I would recommend looking at I-Papyrus 3-D cards which you can find for sale here, perfect for a special occasion. Some stalls are not a permanent feature so be sure to check that they will be there the week you are wishing to visit! If you are traveling to and from the City, then why not visit the Waverly Market at Platform 2 situated in Waverly Train station? This market is on every Friday from 11am to 7pm and is always busy with people looking at the varied selection of products and gifts up for sale or even a quick snack before you depart on your trip. If you do this trip, don’t forget to visit at least one of the markets. Explore and see what local farmers are selling in the city. You will love it!