The United Kingdom’s first independent dental school—aimed mainly at international students—is soon to open in Leicester. From September 2013, the school will enrol 100 students annually for a five-year degree course. The Dental Clinical Centre will make a significant contribution to the dental health of the local population, which is below average.
The new venture is a partnership between the Leicester Dental Teaching Academy and the University of Buckingham. The Bachelor’s degree in Dental Surgery to be offered will be conferred by the University of Buckingham. The course is designed to meet General Dental Council outcome measures and European standards, as well as the requirements of the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.
The degree course is specially designed to appeal to an international market. Students will be introduced to patient care early on in their training and will be given a thorough grounding in business development, management and enterprise. They will gain an appreciation of the international business environment and cultures in other parts of the world, such as India, Nigeria and China, as well as the impact of oral disease on societies around the world.
Once the school is up and running, it is planned to establish a charitable trust and to engage in research, as well as to award bursaries to promising students with limited means of support.
The new school will create employment in the city centre of Leicester in an area of economic regeneration and will provide free dental treatment to members of the public. It is well supported by local funding and will be Leicester’s largest drop-in centre for dental services.
“We are pleased to be pioneering a new dental school that will offer dental education internationally and dental services to the people of Leicester,” said Prof. Terence Kealey, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham.
Prof. Stuart Morganstein, the dean of the new dental school, said: “Our dental school will have a completely new and innovative course that will prepare students for a lifetime career. They will be involved with patient care throughout the course and will have cared for a large number of patients by the time they finish their training. We will continue to support them throughout their careers.”
“The venture is an opportunity to foster Britain’s reputation in the world for skills and knowledge,” remarked David Willetts, the Minister for Higher Education. “It will boost the nation’s export market and it will have spin-off economic benefits for suppliers, contractors and the local economy.”
The central teaching hub and administrative offices will be in existing buildings in Leicester’s Cultural Quarter based in and around the Phoenix Square Digital Media Centre. The Dental Clinical Centre, as well as specialist suites and extra teaching and administrative space, will be built on land alongside this building. Ultimately, this will mean 500 students living and working in the city centre along with 100 staff. There will be 400 patient visits a day. It is hoped that this will boost the regeneration of the area.
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