MedPEM program information

The MedPEM training program will focus on technical and domain knowledge, fundamental principles, skills training as well as on professional training and career development, through both new technical seminars and experiential learning opportunities. There is no additional fee to participate.The objectives of MedPEM are to:

• create a world-class training program in medical protective equipment and materials

• train a diverse cohort of HQP, from undergraduate (UG) students to postdoctoral fellows, within a highly collaborative and interdisciplinary environment;

• develop transferable professional skills in HQP such as communication, entrepreneurship, project management and ethics required within the corporate, academic, and not-for-profit sectors.

Programrequirements

In addition to the standard graduate student program requirements, the following MedPEM program requirements are mandatory for all trainees:

Program mentoring and planning: All trainees must meet with at least one of the management committee members (other than their supervisors) annually.

Graduate course: Completion of 1 interdisciplinary course (3-credit) for MedPEM graduate students

Technical seminars: 13 new technical seminars (9 hrs each) will be introduced within the program on the following topics:

• Sustainability, recyclability, and reusability
• Post-processing and finishing of medical PPE
• Nanotechnology in medical PPE
• Circular economy
• Standard development and regulatory processes
• Smart textiles and PPE
• Transport processes in medical PPE
• Human factors in PPE design
• Testing methods
• Understanding infection control and prevention
• Biopolymers and fibres
• Quality control
• Compliance and certification

The number of seminars that a trainee has to complete during their program depends on the degree program they are enrolled in: M.Sc. – 3; Ph.D. – 5; PDF – 5; UG – 1

• Disruptive research thinking – All graduate students and postdoctoral fellows need to complete a 5-day workshop (2 hours/day) on research thinking during the program.
• Participation in the Annual Symposium
• Monthly seminar – Attending 6 of the monthly seminar series annually is mandatory for all graduate students. Undergraduate students need to attend only 2 seminars.
• Internships – Ph.D. students are required to undertake an 8–month internship outside academia. M.Sc. students are required to undertake 4 months of internship outside academia.
• Lab visits – All graduate students must visit other research group labs.
• Professional development workshops – All trainees will be required to complete at least 1 workshop from each skillset below except “teaching skills”. Ph.D. students and PDFs will be required to take 2 more workshops from any of the skills.