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