Contact: 2024SMEDCONFERENCE@dundee.ac.uk for conference enquiries
For any queries about your visit to Dundee email debbie.ree@dundeecity.gov.uk
2024 Medical Schools Secretaries National Conference
Welcome to the information page for the 2024 National Conference for Medical School Secretaries.
We are pleased to invite you to this annual event tailored for professionals in the field of medical education. As dedicated professionals navigating the dynamic realm of medical education, we recognise the pivotal role each of us plays in ensuring the seamless operation of our institutions.
We very much look forward to welcoming you to this year’s conference which is an opportunity for us to get together, collaborate, innovate, and advance in our respective and collective professional journeys.
This page is your go-to resource for all conference-related information and updates, including essential forms – don't forget to bookmark this website and check in regularly.
Based on feedback from last year’s conference and also taking recent developments in the Medical School sector into account, we have carefully designed this program to provide you with a platform for sharing valuable insights, learning best practices, and fostering connections with colleagues across the country.
Join us in June for an enriching and informative experience as we collectively navigate the evolving landscape of medical school administration.
Should you need to get in touch, simply contact us.
Warm regards, and we look forward to an inspiring and fruitful conference experience!
Registration is now closed
Email 2024SMEDCONFERENCE@dundee.ac.uk if you would like to be added to our waiting list and we will be in touch if places become available.
Image: 2023 Conference at Newcastle University
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Speakers
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Professor Rory McCrimmon, Dean of Medicine, University of Dundee |
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Martin Hart, Assistant Director, Education at the General Medical Council |
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Katie Petty-Saphon, Chief Executive, Medical Schools Council |
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Shane O'Neill, Deputy Vice-Chancellor & Provost, University of Dundee |
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Dr Ellie Hothersall, Head of Undergraduate Medicine, University of Dundee |
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Dr David Russell, International Lead for the Centre of Medical Education, University of Dundee
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Katharine Rogers, Director of Faculty Operations, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University |
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Caroline Forbes, Teaching Operations Manager, University of St Andrews |
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Muriel Snowdon, Deputy Director of Faculty Operations (Faculty of Medical Sciences) |
Conference Venues
Thursday 6 June 2024 - Dalhousie Building, City Campus
On Thursday, the conference is being held at the award winning Dalhousie Building, University of Dundee.
Named after the Earl of Dalhousie, second Chancellor of the University, this was designed by Campbell & Arnott and opened by the Queen in 2007.
View Dalhousie Building's Accessibility Guide (external link)
Friday 7 June 2024 - Medical School, Ninewells Hospital
On Friday the conference is being held within Ninewells Hospital which is situated on the western outskirts of Dundee. The main gate is on Ninewells Avenue which runs between Perth Road and Glamis Road and is home to our School of Medicine.
Location: Wolfson Lecture Theatre, Ninewells Hospital (Morning coffee and lunch will take place in the Medical School Museum/Study Area).
Accessibility: The main entrance has automatic doors. There are lifts for public use. There are accessible toilets throughout the building. View accessibility information for the School of Medicine (Ninewells Campus) on AccessAble
A complimentary coach will depart from Central Dundee taking delegates to Ninewells Hospital further details to follow.
Coach collection venue and time: JP Mini Coaches will depart from Dundee Science Centre, Greenmarket (Directions courtesy of Google Maps) at 0830 on the morning of 7th June to Ninewells returning from Ninewells Hospital to Dundee Science Centre, Greenmarket at 1340
Social Venue - Drink Reception and Dinner
Thursday 6 June 2024
V&A Dundee was designed as a living room for the city – and an exceptional location for unique and engaging events with interchangeable spaces around the current museum exhibitions. Scotland is known for its hospitality and Heritage Portfolio couldn’t be more proud to be V&A Dundee’s chosen catering partner. As passionate foodies and event designers, they relish the challenge of bringing together the history and culture of the country with the stature of V&A Dundee while enhancing it with their creativity and innovation in menu and theme design.
1830: Drinks reception
1845: Talk: Intro to Kimono and Scottish Design Gallery
1900: Kimono & Scottish Design Gallery open
2000: Call to dinner in Tatha
2015: Dinner served in Tatha
Accessibility: The V&A Dundee has been designed to be inclusive and accessible, where everyone feels welcome. For further information on things to make your visit as enjoyable as possible, please visit the following websites: V&A Dundee and Euan's Guide
Location: 1 Riverside Esplanade, Dundee DD1 4EZ Directions courtesy of GoogleMaps
Discounted flights to/from Dundee with Loganair
Loganair is offering up to 30% off flights to delegates travelling to/from Dundee from London Heathrow (LHR), Sumburgh (LSI) and Kirkwall (KOI) Airports for this conference.
Please book at Loganair.co.uk before 10 June 2024, quoting promotional code MSSNC24 at the time of booking, for travel between 4 June - 10 June 2024.
Visit Loganair to book
Launched in 2021, GreenSkies is Loganair’s sustainability initiative, which sets out how the company will achieve its ambitious target of becoming net zero by 2040. One part of the initiative is a small mandatory charge as part of every fare; with funds then invested in internationally accredited carbon offset schemes to take the same amount of carbon out of the atmosphere that each flight produces. While the carbon offsetting programme is the first step, Loganair have also been engaging with leading aerospace and technology companies to ensure we can have the systems we need to achieve our carbon-neutral goal.
Guidance on Travelling Safely and your Travel Made Easy Guide
Follow government guidance on travelling safely in the UK and Scotland.
Read our Travel Made Easy Guide (link opens in new window) on how to get to Dundee from Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and Glasgow Airport, including coach travel to Dundee.
Organising Committee
Organised by colleagues of School of Medicine, University of Dundee with support from Dundee City Region Convention Bureau.
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Fiona Brown, School Manager, University of Dundee |
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Kara Knight, Head of Learning and Teaching Support, University of Dundee |
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Mary Burke, Academic Support and Project Administrator, University of Dundee |
with support from Karen Tocher and Debbie Ree, Dundee City Region Convention Bureau
Our Partners
We are extremely grateful for the generous support and help we receive from our partners. Thanks to all involved in bringing us together for the 2024 Medical Schools Secretaries National Conference.
Our Partners:
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Conference Privacy Statement
View our Conference Privacy Statement (pdf document)
Conference Sustainability Aims and Health & Wellbeing Guide
View our Health & Wellbeing Guide (pdf document)
Conference Sustainability Aims (pdf document)
Dundee is famous for Jute, Jam, Journalism and so much more
Jute: Dundee, employing more than half the population in the mills, earned the nickname 'Juteopolis'. Visit Verdant Works a world class visitor attraction (external link).
Jam: In 1938, the Mackays brothers converted the Mackay factory (originally a carrot processing facility) in Carnoustie, Angus into a jam-making facility sourcing berries locally. Dundee Marmalade, the original marmalade, was created in Dundee in 1797. Read more and details to visit Mackays factory shop.
Journalism: DC Thomson is a family business that was established in Dundee by publisher D.C.Thomson in the early 20th century. Home to the world's oldest magazine, The Scot Magazine. The Beano (launched in 1938) is the world's longest running weekly comic. Read about DC Thomson and their history (external link).
Our heritage and the people who shaped it form the basis of our city's culture and the stories we pass on to future generations. Dundee and the surrounding region are home to numerous remarkable individuals who have made groundbreaking contributions to our community and the world at large.
The following are just a few of the stories:
Royal Research Ship Discovery | Dundee Shipbuilders 1901
The Royal Research Ship Discovery was built in the city of Dundee by skilled craftsmen and shipbuilders, awarded the contract due to their internationally renowned skills in constructing wooden ships for the city’s whaling industry. This ship was used by Captain Robert Falcon Scott when he sailed on his first voyage to Antarctica in 1901. One of the inspirations for the voyage was the pioneering Dundee Whalers’ Antarctic expedition of 1892. Scott’s expedition can be seen aboard the RRS Discovery berthed in Dundee, at Discovery Point. Visit Discovery Point award-winning visitor attraction (external link)
Pioneered the use of X-rays in Dundee | Dr George Alexander Pirie 1863 – 1929
George Alexander Pirie was an early pioneer in the use of X-rays in clinical medicine between 1896 and 1925 at the Dundee Royal Infirmary. He paid a high price for his research, which ultimately led to the amputation of both hands due to his exposure to radiation. In 1926, Dr Pirie was awarded a Carnegie Trust medal and pension, and the citizens of Dundee presented him with a sum of money raised by them in recognition of his achievements.
Discovered the basis for aspirin | Dr Thomas J Maclagan 1838 – 1903
Dr Thomas J Maclagan was a doctor and pharmacologist based at Dundee’s Royal Infirmary from 1864 to 1866. During this time, he carried out research into the effect of Salicin, an extract from willow bark, and a known anti-rheumatic treatment. This work was then taken up by German researchers who used salicin to develop acetyl-salicylic acid – more commonly known today as aspirin.
Missionary | Mary Slessor 1848 – 1915
Mary Slessor, a skilled jute worker, became a missionary for the church in Calabar, West Africa at the age of 28. She was unique due to her desire to live as they lived, which gained her the respect of many local people. Superstition was prevalent within local tribes, and it was common for twins to be killed when born. This led to Mary saving many children and raising them herself.
Mary Slessor became the first woman to be depicted on a Scottish banknote.
Pioneer of Electricity | James Bowman Lindsay 1799 – 1862
James Bowman Lindsay, born near Arbroath, is known as a visionary and pioneer of electricity. In 1854, Lindsay patented his system of wireless telegraphy through water. He perfected the world’s first constant electric light, although Edison was credited for the invention of the electric lightbulb 40 years later. Lindsay predicted that cities would be lit by electricity; however, his main objective was to produce a safe method for the jute mills of Dundee to be illuminated.
Inventor of the adhesive postage stamp | James Chalmers 1782 – 1853
James Chalmers was eventually recognised much later for developing an adhesive penny postage stamp in 1834. He was born in Arbroath in 1782 and became a weaver, moving to Dundee in 1809. Chalmers served as Town Councillor, promoting burgh reform on taxes and excise duty, and it was through his printing and publishing experience, he developed an adhesive postage stamp. His fifth son, Patrick, fought for twelve years to have him recognised as the inventor, and his gravestone now bears this acknowledgement.
Pioneering scientist who applied mathematics and physics to nature | Sir D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson 1860 – 1948
D’Arcy Thompson became the first Professor of Biology at University College Dundee in 1885, a post he held for 32 years. During this time, he collected zoological specimens from around the world and used them in researching his ground-breaking book ‘On Growth and Form’. It proposed that the natural world was ruled by the laws of mathematics and was seen by many as an alternative to Darwinian evolution. Thompson’s work is central to current research into biomathematics and developmental biology, and has also influenced the worlds of art and architecture. Much of his collection can still be seen today in the D’Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum (external link) at the University of Dundee.
Getting around Dundee and MixMap Dundee Tourist Map
Get active out and about in Dundee city. A compact city bursting with places of interest, history, and things to see, it is so easy to get around.
Dundee’s active travel routes in and around the city have been developed over the last few years with a key objective to encourage active travel through walking, cycling and public transport, and deploy sustainable alternatives to decarbonise transport. Read more on Dundee.com Active Travel website.
MixMap is a friendly, easy to use, locally produced Dundee map for tourists showcasing the colourful range of independent businesses, attractions and places of interest in Dundee and Broughty Ferry.
We want to help you make the most of your time in our city. Discover great little shops, welcoming restaurants, immersive attractions with Visit MixMap The Dundee Tourist Map website.
Contact Us
For conference enquiries email: 2024SMEDCONFERENCE@dundee.ac.uk
