Enterprise Academy Fellow, Lecturer in Engineering and Medical Devices

Email: claire.brougham@TUDublin.ie

Claire Brougham, PhD, Lecturer in Engineering and Medical Devices, School of Mechanical Engineering, TU Dublin

As a Mechanical Engineer, with a Masters in Engineering Science, Claire started her career in the medical device industry before moving to academia in 2010 where she completed a PG Diploma in third level education. Within the faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, she lectures on medical device design, product design and research methodologies.

Claire completed a PhD in Biomaterials in RCSI’s Tissue Engineering Research Group. This work won her the prestigious Engineers Ireland Biomedical Research Medal, and she was also awarded RCSI’s accolade of ‘Researcher of the year’ in 2016.  Claire’s research is at the forefront of tissue engineering, examining the capacity of materials to become functional within the vasculature. Her most recent research is translational, looking at how some of the developed technologies can be translated to the clinic.

With an eye to the medical device regulations, Claire has been involved in the NoBoCap project, an EU4Health funded project to improve the quality of submissions by market operators under the new MDR and IVDR.  Her fellowship with the Enterprise Academy aims to address skills shortages within the medical device industry across Europe, due to the impact of the new regulations.

 

Enterprise Academy Fellowship Project

Medical Device Sector: Talent development for healthcare innovation 

The medical device industry is an important player in the Irish economy and a major contributor to healthcare innovation worldwide. The aim of this fellowship was to examine educational needs of the medical device industry in Ireland, specifically focusing on R&I functions. What provision by TU Dublin could make a positive impact on the R&I functions of this industry Primary and secondary research was conducted and findings showed major gaps in educational provision. A strategy for addressing these shortcomings was brought forward, refined and steps for implementation were defined. At this point, a major national report on future skills needs for the sector was published. (The findings of the national report were directly in line with our own findings, albeit, using more participants and more validation of results.) The strategy for the School of Mechanical Engineering comprises of revisiting level 8 provision in this space and moving it from a BE to a BSc. Subsequently, a level 9 in Medical Device Design will be created, containing stackable pathways for the parttime learner alongside a traditional full-time option. Once established, EU funding will be accessed to create a mechanism for a Joint MSc with EUT+ partners (or others). Once validated, this Joint MSc will be used to access Erasmus Mundus funding for high calibre students (€5 million over 6 years). This in turn will lead to applications for an ITN. These measures will create level 8, 9 and 10 graduates to serve the industry both in Ireland and worldwide. The risks of implementation of this strategy are low and the benefits are high. We have the initial staff capacity to move forward with this plan.