NIHR HRC PCH Education Programme Launch
Monday 26 January 2026
We’re delighted to share that our education programme, Elevate2Innovate, has officially launched after hosting our first webinar, “The Innovation Journey”, last week.
At the NIHR HRC in Paediatrics and Child Health (NIHR HRC PCH), we are dedicated to supporting the next generation of researchers and innovators in child health technology. We have developed a health technology-focussed training programme, Elevate2Innovate (E2I), which will provide tailored educational support to a cohort of NIHR HRC PCH-funded PhD students, each based in the leading health and/or research institutions in England that host our five research themes.
E2I is a comprehensive training programme developed and delivered by our team which will equip the students with essential skills and knowledge for a successful and exciting career in child health technology. Students will explore key principles of HealthTech development through a series of seminars, workshops, and skill-building sessions, and learn how to apply their learning to their own research. Students will also have the opportunity to network and showcase their work and even shape the programme themselves through peer-assisted learning and leadership opportunities.
2026 Launch: “The Innovation Journey” webinar series
We are pleased to share that we hosted the first session of the E2I Programme last week, the first webinar in a three-part series on The Innovation Journey. This mini-series outlines the key stages of the innovation pipeline and introduces participants to basic principles of health technology development that we will explore in more depth later in the programme. The interactive and engaging session was chaired by the NIHR HRC PCH Education Project Manager, Jess McNeill, who was joined by our fantastic guest speakers to discuss a range of topics including:
- mapping out the stages of the innovation journey based on the Technology Readiness Levels,
- navigating regulatory requirements and approvals in early stage development,
- evidence generation and clinical investigations,
- understanding care pathways and hospital workflows,
- early health technology assessment and health economics,
- real-world case studies of paediatric health technologies.
Who is this programme for?
This programme is primarily aimed at the ten HRC-funded PhD students but certain elements of E2I are open to other postgraduates and Early Career Researchers within our network who are interested in pursuing a career in paediatric research and innovation.
One of the exciting initiatives within the programme is to partner with external organisations to deliver bespoke training, career development opportunities, and support capacity building for healthcare workers, industry, and academics. Our Education Programme Director, Dr Venkat Reddy, and Education Project Manager, Jess McNeill, are working together alongside these organisations and the rest of the NIHR HRC PCH team to develop and deliver a programme that benefits both the E2I cohort and other Early Career Researchers and innovators-to-be in the UK.
Elizabeth is an Assistant Professor (tenure track) at Montana State University- Mark & Robyn Jones College of Nursing in Bozeman, Montana. She teaches Design of Healthcare Delivery Systems, an interprofessional graduate course offering with College of Nursing (Clinical Nurse Leader and DNP students) and College of Engineering students (industrial, mechanical, healthcare systems engineering students) to evaluate quality and efficiency in the delivery of patient care. Her research includes technology innovation and digital health device development for clinical trial participant safety management, with funding awarded from the Montana State University/U.S. Economic Development Administration, American Nurses Association, NIH, Genentech Innovation Fund, and via the National Science Foundation- National Innovation Corps program. She is part of the Blueprint Engine- Tough Tech Program at MIT. Her service includes Chair for the Research Committee of the International Association of Clinical Research Nurses, President-Elect for the Nursing Institute of Healthcare Design, Coalition for Health AI Health System Advisory Board, and member of the American Nurses Association Innovation Advisory Committee for Technology + Medical Devices. Prior to her current role at Montana State University, Elizabeth was a clinical research nurse, clinical trial manager, and pharmaceutical industry global early clinical development manager supporting pediatric endocrinology and adult oncology.
DR VENKAT REDDY
Education Programme Director, NIHR HRC PCH & Officer for Digital Health and Technology, RCPCH
What’s next?
The E2I Programme will run its course over the next three years, for the duration of the PhD studentships. Over the next few months, we are excited to host the first wave of activities as outlined below:
The next two instalments of “The Innovation Journey” webinar series are to be held in Spring 2026. Each session will include expert guest speakers, interactive activities, and opportunities for the participants to learn how to apply their learning to their own projects.
Alongside this three-part series, next month we are also excited to host a webinar and in-person workshop on “Involving Children, Young People, and Families” in research and innovation, hosted by our own in-house experts on Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE), Dr Gemma Wheeler and Jen Preston. In these sessions, the students will develop a foundational knowledge of the importance and impact of meaningfully engaging young people and families in HealthTech research and evidence-based approaches to PPIE that they will learn to apply to their own projects.
For regular updates on the E2I Programme and other educational activities we support, please visit our Training & Education page and sign up to our mailing list using the links below.