university of sheffield msc in chemoinformatics how the programme came into being structure of the...
Post on 28-Jan-2016
212 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
University of Sheffield MSc in Chemoinformatics
• How the programme came into being
• Structure of the programme• Taught component
•Dissertation component
• Our experiences
Chemoinformatics at Sheffield• Distinguished track record in chemoinformatics
research since the late Sixties
• One-term module on chemoinformatics for many years to MSc Information Management students
• This led to many subsequent PhD studies, but numbers of scientists of all sorts doing the MSc programme has been falling steadily….
• …while the need for specialist training has increased
MSc Chemoinformatics: history• World-wide industry shortage
• August 1999: ACS COMP symposium• November 1999: ABPI
EPSRC; Sheffield University; representatives from pharmaceutical industry
• December 1999: EPSRC call for proposals• Masters Level Training Packages (MTPs), with
Chemoinformatics as one of the priority areas
• Successful bid supported by a range of pharmaceutical, agrochemical and software companies• 10 studentships over 5 years from September 2000
• Tuition and 2/3 maintenance (1/3 coming from industry)
MSc Chemoinformatics: aims• Develop an awareness of IM and IT techniques used in the
design and implementation of chemoinformatics systems
• Enable students to demonstrate skills learned by carrying out a small-scale industrially relevant chemoinformatics research project
• Basic structure
• Two semesters of taught modules
• One semester dissertation working at the site of one of the companies supporting the programme
Semester One: taught modules
An introduction to chemoinformatics, to numeric and textual information systems and to computer programming. •Chemoinformatics I
• Information Systems Modelling
• Information Storage and Retrieval
• Foundations of Object-Oriented Programming (CS)
Semester Two: taught modules
• Chemoinformatics II (more programming)
• Database Design
• Research Methods and Dissertation Preparation
• Two from a range of elective modules, including Molecular Modelling (Chemistry), Healthcare Information, E-Business & E-commerce etc
Rationale for the placements• A dissertation is an important part of any
PGT course•What distinguishes an MSc from a Diploma or
Certificate
• Part of all of our existing MA/MSc programmes
• Substantial industrial involvement required for EPSRC-funded PGT programmes
Placements: timetable • Mid-November
• Initial contact with companies to request projects
• Late-January• Final list of projects (title plus agreed one-paragraph
abstract) sent to all students
• Mid-February: final allocations• One student per company
• Student to get one of three choices
• Take account of Sheffield staff expertise
• Easter• Student/staff visit to the company to finalise arrangements
Placements: the summer
• Mid-June• Students leave Sheffield
•Regular email/phone conversations with Sheffield supervisor
•One on-site visit with submission of final dissertation by 1st September
Final projects• Four main types of project
• Development and/or testing of an existing or novel piece of software for some specific application
• Development of a Web front-end to an existing system or service
• Comparison of different programs for some specific application• Analysis of chemical and/or biological dataset(s)
• Wide range of organisations• AstraZeneca (both Macclesfield and Loughborough sites),
Barnard Chemical Information, Edward Jenner Institute, Eli Lilly, Evotec OAI, GlaxoSmithKline (both Stevenage and Harlow sites), Johnson & Johnson (Spain), Merck Sharp & Dohm, Novartis (both Horsham and Basel), Organon (The Netherlands), Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi-Aventis (Paris), Syngenta, Treweren Consultants and Vernalis.
Lessons that we can draw
• Industrial involvement• Crucial if a meaningful programme is to be delivered
• Sustainability• Or the lack thereof
• Employability• Excellent prospects for students taking the
programme
Industrial involvement: I
• Chemoinformatics is not a purely academic discipline so there is a need for industrial involvement to ensure relevance• Chemoinformatics-II lectures given entirely by visiting
speakers, with most of these from industry
• The dissertation is planned in discussion with, and supervised on a day-to-day basis by, an industrial collaborator
Industrial involvement: II• The dissertation was intended from the start to be the
principal component of the programme, towards which the taught components build
• Correctness of this view, with all three stakeholders benefiting • Companies come back year after year
• Students maximise their chances of subsequent employment
• Although not an explicit intention, several dissertation-based research publications (and others excellent but confidential)
Sustainability: I
• The original EPSRC funding was for the period 2000-01 to 2004-05
• Expectation by EPSRC that the programme would become self-funding• Students supporting themselves
• Marketing of distance-learning modules derived from programme materials
Sustainability: II• These expectations were not realistic
• Traditional student assumptions exacerbated by changes in UG funding
• No industrial interest in distance-learning materials4-day short course meets this need
• In UK, as elsewhere, declining numbers of students studying physical sciences at UG level• First physics and now chemistry closures
• Even with the offer of fees, maintenance and placement, only limited numbers of applications for the programme
Employability
• For the 38 students in the years 2000-04, their subsequent destinations were as follows• Pharmaceutical industry: 9
• Chemoinformatics software or database: 7
• PhD research: 11
• General IT: 6
• Other employment: 2
• Unknown: 3
top related