What is your role here at Barts and The London? What does this involve day to day?
I am the Lead Curriculum Operations Unit Manager. My role is to manage the operations unit team and, alongside my colleagues, ensure the provision of administrative support to the programmes managed by the Institute of Health Sciences Education (IHSE), which includes the 5-year MBBS Medicine Programme, 4-year GEP Medicine Programme, the MSc Physician Associate Programme, Intercalated Degrees and a few smaller MSc & MA programmes.
On a day-to-day basis I oversee the delivery across these programmes, deal with enquiries from students and academics, work on forward planning, manage and support the deputy managers and the wider team.
Is there anything you do as part of your role that students might not realise?
I would say probably not! My name is most likely well recognised by most students as I tend to send a lot of our communications, so I’m generally known to be involved or aware of activities in most areas as required by the nature of my role. As my name is familiar, students often reach out to me for a whole range of things – I have been here for around 17 years now so if I don’t have the answer then I usually know who does!
Do you do anything else outside of the school?
No not currently, as it stands my role is very involving and takes a lot of my time and energy. Looking forward to 2022 I am looking to rekindle my interest in building design and property development, which I had explored some years ago.
What did you do before you joined Queen Mary, or before you took up the post you’re in now?
Before joining Queen Mary, the early part of my career was spent working in the charity sector, mainly within HIV and AIDS health promotion. This was in the 90s before the lifesaving combination therapies we have today, so getting the safer sex message out was a priority, as well as supporting those living with HIV/AIDS and their loved ones. This was challenging and often sad, as life expectancy after diagnosis was often short. As a young gay man at the time it was important for me to be involved and support the communities most affected. After that I moved on to working with the elderly and then did a short spell in advertising before working for Transport for London, and finally joining the Medical School.
Do you have any advice for new students joining us?
I would say it’s important to be as well organised as you can; we are all different and manage ourselves in different ways, so find a way of working that suits you best. Try to keep up to date with the information and advice we send out to you to ensure you don’t miss out on opportunities or deadlines. Please don’t ever worry about anything on your own – these are challenging times for us all, so be sure to reach out as we are here to help and support you. Finally, enjoy yourself! Studying medicine at any level can be hard going at times, so don’t forget to be the young people that you are, take time to get out and explore London, socialise and relax in your own way.
Lastly, tell us one interesting or fun fact about yourself!
Oh tricky question! The only thing that comes to mind is that back when I was at university we didn’t really have gap years. I went straight from high school to university when I was 17, and then from university straight to the work place.
So in my mid 30s before joining the Medical School I felt it was time for a break, so I took time out and spent a year re-training as a Sport Massage Therapist. I wanted to do something completely different, and really enjoyed learning about the body and the benefits of massage. After qualifying I did that for a couple of years before returning to my career path and joining the Medical School.
