Plymouth University launches new faculty for social wellbeing environment

Plymouth University has launched a new interdisciplinary teaching and research faculty with the pledge that it will work with partners to address a broad social wellbeing agenda.

The Faculty of Health, Education and Society is set to unite the University’s existing high quality provision of teacher, healthcare and social work professional education, with a strong social science focus.

The new Faculty will work to provide even greater strategic support to those agencies that span communities and society, using its international expertise to tackle real-world issues such as child welfare and safeguarding, youth behaviour, and ageing.

Representatives from the health, education and social service sectors, as well as council officials, voluntary groups and members of industry across the South West attended the launch, held in the University’s graduation marquee at the Hoe. The event showcased diverse examples of the Faculty's excellence in research, teaching, enterprise and practice.

Professor Richard Stephenson, Dean of the Faculty and Pro Vice-Chancellor, said his team would “engage more comprehensively” with partners and stakeholders and commit its broad span of expertise to address the wider social wellbeing agenda.

He said: “We are in a period of significant social and economic evolution which impacts heavily across the landscape and architecture of health, education and the broadest dimensions of society.

“The need to provide a culture of innovation and ethos of enterprise in both practice and practitioners is clear. Through embedded partnerships and solution-focussed practice we will enact change, enrich our curricula, broaden our student experience, and enhance the employability of our graduates. Our alumni will in turn refresh the workforce and lead future innovation.”

Professor Stephenson said they would look to work with both internal and external partners to enhance the existing high quality professional and discipline-specific programmes, and to develop thematic initiatives, for example in child wellbeing, mental health and dementia, and social disaffect. They would seek to bring global perspectives to the region and to spotlight local initiatives to the broadest audience.

In total, the new Faculty will teach over 4,500 full time students, and thousands more on continued professional development, across a variety of courses this year, from adult nursing and physiotherapy, to primary and secondary school education.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Wendy Purcell welcomed guests to the launch. She said: “In both Health and Education, the Government has triggered extensive programmes of reform that will impact upon how we educate tomorrow’s health professionals and teachers.

“So we have made a bold decision to draw our faculties together to seek to harness synergies and develop new programmes and research to address the needs of our students and our community.”