SPHPM Annual Report

Teaching and learning in 2021

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The COVID-19 pandemic again cast a shadow over 2021, another year where teaching and learning was subject to great uncertainty and frequent modal change for our students and teachers. I’m incredibly proud of the resilience shown by both, and the great achievements made by our students in spite of disruption. Our educators rose to meet career-defining challenges with positivity, patience and a pioneering spirit. The efforts of the entire teaching and learning team were recognised with the Head of School Award at our 2021 School Excellence Awards ceremony.

In 2021 we continued to provide public health and epidemiological education through undergraduate, postgraduate and graduate formal award degrees, and professional education courses convened through the School. We also engaged in collaborative teaching within the Faculty, including teaching and coordinating several units into the University’s popular medical (MD) and biomedical sciences programs.

Our team continued to deliver excellence across our entire educational suite, helping our graduates strengthen health services and public health research into the future.

Professor Dragan Ilic
Deputy Head of School (Education)

  • Undergraduate Education

    Program leader: Associate Professor Basia Diug

    In 2021 we taught 384 students across our public health undergraduate degree courses and honours program. Our Bachelor of Public Health provides a tailored solution for students committed to a career in public health, while our Bachelor of Health Sciences provides a broader curriculum delivering career agility across healthcare.

    We also taught public health and epidemiology to more than 1,500 undergraduate Biomedical Sciences students, and Dr Helen Ackland undertook her first year administering our Theme II: Society, Population, Health and Illness contribution to the University’s graduate medical program, the Monash MD. We welcomed 60 final year MD students as part of the Scholarly Intensive Program, a research immersion experience that allows students to contribute to a real-world clinical research project.

    Some of our organisational Units provided their unique and specific expertise to cross-disciplinary education.

  • Postgraduate Education

    Program leader: Professor Jane Banaszak-Holl

    The COVID-19 pandemic has piqued interest in public health, and we continued to equip health and medical professionals with high-level skills and knowledge needed to navigate a path through similar crises, and protect health and wellbeing globally.

    In total, 867 students were enrolled across our suite of Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma and Masters programs in Public Health, Health Management, Clinical Research, Biostatistics, Occupational and Environmental Health, Clinical Medicine and Forensic Medicine.

    2021 saw a flurry of planning activity, as four new postgraduate courses were developed for 2022, offering specialised training in exciting emerging career fields. Next year will see the launch of courses in Forensic and Legal Studies, Health Data Analytics, Paediatric Forensic Medicine and Personal Injury Management.

  • Graduate Research

    Program leader: Professor Sally Green

    Our Graduate Research program enrolled 51 new candidates during 2021, with a total cohort of 223 PhD and MPhil students by year's end.

    They conducted wide-ranging projects across a range of subject domains, applying diverse research methods. Twenty-nine completions took place during the year, testament to the strength of our supervision and mentorship.

    Eight students won publication awards, extending their candidature stipend to allow them to complete further publications while their main thesis is under examination. The School received 16 International Research Training Program Stipends (RTPS) with Tuition Sponsorships, and 21 Domestic RTPS, a huge 25 per cent increase from 2020. We also received two Monash Graduate Excellence Scholarships.

  • Professional Education

    Program leader: Dr Danijela Gasevic

    Our Professional Education Program offers intensive deep dives for students and established professionals to learn new skills or refresh old knowledge. We offered a restricted portfolio throughout 2021, focusing on those that were easily adapted to an online format without loss of integrity.

    Courses run in 2021 included Introduction to Health Economics, Designing and Using Surveys and Questionnaires for Clinical Practice, Qualitative Research Methods, and Ethics and Good Research Practice.

    2022 will see the resumption of many of our standard portfolio courses, and three new courses are scheduled: Clinical Trial Fundamentals, Healthcare Evaluation and Principles of Personal Injury Scheme Design.

    A number of our research groups, including the Department of Forensic Medicine, the Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation, the Health and Social Care Unit and Cochrane Australia, also provided professional education across a raft of specialty areas and skills relevant to their specific expertise.