EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training iN digGital heAlth technoloGiEs (ENGAGE)

The challenges for healthcare systems are unprecedented, exacerbated by the burdens of infectious and chronic disease, ageing populations, inequalities, fragmented systems and workforce shortages. The NHS has a severe and growing workforce shortage that will be put under increasing pressure as the demands of our population continue to grow. Digital health technologies have the capacity to mitigate some of these challenges, for example via advanced monitoring technologies, virtual wards and 'hospital-at-home' programmes that will enable earlier diagnosis and personalised treatment strategies; however, this necessitates a new generation of digital health technologists, trained in research at the intersection of engineering, computing, data sciences and healthcare. Our EPSRC centre for doctoral training iN diGital heAlth technoloGiEs (ENGAGE) will address this deficit by creating a new coordinated doctoral training programme, partnering world-leading academic and NHS organisations and industry, such that graduates from the Centre can co-create and ideate, design, develop, evaluate and implement evidence-based digital health technologies. ENGAGE will provide a holistic approach to research and innovation, bringing together cutting-edge research spanning mathematical and data sciences, AI and machine learning, through to materials, sensors and medical devices, human-computer interaction and behavioural science, avoiding traditional disciplinary silos. We have co-designed ENGAGE with a breadth of industry and healthcare partners, identifying four themes for student training and PhD projects: Diagnostic & Prognostic Indications; Treatment & Care Optimization; Disease Tracking, Surveillance & Modelling; Data Security, Interoperability & Sharing. These Themes are underpinned by technology innovations as diverse as wearables and apps for home-monitoring of health and disease, digitally-enabled sensors for public health assessment, real-time patient algorithms and AI models to guide treatment. ENGAGE is a highly collaborative research training programme around a core academic partnership between UCL and Ulster University, providing a cutting-edge set of research expertise and facilities, in addition to embedding student projects in two different health and care systems (NHS in London and HSCNI in Northern Ireland). Further, ENGAGE partners with NHS Trusts via UCL's three Biomedical Research Centres at UCLH, GOSH and Moorfields, as well as the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland, providing excellent opportunities for multidisciplinary projects and to understand patient and clinician unmet needs. Students will also benefit from opportunities to share their research with the public via events organised by our universities and partners, including the Science Museum. ENGAGE has embedded partnerships with large industry and SMEs, spanning the breadth of digital health development and real-world application ranging from imaging technologies, through medical device regulation, device-enabled therapeutic monitoring, computational tools and infrastructure, to health apps, allowing co-creation of projects most likely to achieve impact. All partners will be embedded in student training opportunities, from hosting secondments to co-designing research projects and providing training. ENGAGE graduates will be adept at: (1) Identifying unmet need by engaging end-users and co-creating research questions with them; (2) Undertaking discovery research in engineering and physical sciences, bringing together approaches from different disciplines to tackle health challenges; (3) Understanding technology translation to the market via innovation & entrepreneurship; (4) Understanding the translational pipeline for sustainable digital health technologies, including ideation, development, evaluation, trials, regulation, adoption.