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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2018/2019

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Deanery of Biomedical Sciences : Biomedical Sciences

Postgraduate Course: Science, Policy and Practice (BIME11051)

Course Outline
SchoolDeanery of Biomedical Sciences CollegeCollege of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate)
Course typePlacement AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits10 ECTS Credits5
SummaryThis course will introduce you to the worlds of knowledge mobilisation and policy as practice. It will enable you to understand and develop your role as a knowledge broker in policy contexts, and will provide you with analytic tools and practical skills for reflective practice.

In this course we actively explore, through theory and practice, the role of the knowledge broker as a practitioner who connects research, policy and practice by effectively mobilising knowledge and fostering interfaces between organisations (e.g. research centres, government agencies, public services), people (e.g. research and policy communities) and materials (e.g. research reports, policy documents).

The course provides you with a grounded understanding of policy as a field of practice and policy-making as a rich, non-linear process, in which you can become an active agent. Accordingly, the course aims to enhance your capacity to critically analyse the interface between science and policy in your area of work, thus enabling you to develop the 'know-how' to actively engage in shaping it.

The work of a knowledge broker unfolds at the junction of two current trends in terms of knowledge and policy, namely the research impact agenda and the evidence-informed policy-making agenda.

This course's objective is to prepare you to thrive in such context by developing your analytical skills and capacity for reflective practice.
Course description Not entered
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2018/19, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Quota:  None
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 100 ( Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 98 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) * An essay or report (1500 words) from a selection of options e.g. shadowing a knowledge broker or policy practitioner and providing a reflective analysis of observations, a report on the knowledge brokering strategies used by a particular organisation with regard to its policy context. (70%)
* A practice-oriented exercise (1000 words) choosing from 2 options: preparation of a policy brief or design of a knowledge exchange strategy. (30%)
Feedback Feedback will be ongoing during seminar and practical session with summative, written feedback delivered together with summative mark.
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Understand policy and policy-making as practice
  2. Understand the interface between knowledge and policy in the context of science and technology
  3. Demonstrate an ability to draw on existing resources and networks for knowledge brokerage and policy work
  4. Demonstrate the development of practical skills to operate as a policy-oriented knowledge broker, including the design of knowledge exchange strategies and the writing of policy briefs
  5. Demonstrate the capacity for reflective practice based on the development of analytical skills and know-how that will prepare you for continuous learning as a practitioner
Reading List
None
Additional Information
Course URL http://www.sciencecommunication.mvm.ed.ac.uk/
Graduate Attributes and Skills SCQF
1.KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
2. Practice: applied knowledge skills and understanding
3. Generic Cognitive Skills
4. Communication, ICT
5. Autonomy, Accountability and Working with others
KeywordsSCPE,ScPolicy&Pract
Contacts
Course organiserDr Elizabeth Stevenson
Tel: (0131 6)50 3258
Email: E.Stevenson@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Lisa Kilcullen
Tel: (0131 6)51 4075
Email: L.Kilcullen@ed.ac.uk
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