Curtin University has awarded the 2014 Haydn Williams Fellowship to a Dutch scholar with an outstanding international reputation in medical education.
Professor Cees van der Vleuten from Maastricht University has been awarded the Fellowship, which is given annually to an academic with broad academic interest and a strong global profile.
Professor van der Vleuten, who in 2010 received a Dutch royal decoration for the societal impact of his work, will present a free public lecture at Curtin’s Bentley Campus on Tuesday night.
Professor Kate Wright, Curtin’s Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Development, said an important aspect of the 2014 Fellowship was to help build the University’s engagement with the global academic community, as well as further developing links with industry and the community.
“Professor van der Vleuten and Curtin research groups have unique and complementary expertise which, when brought together, can have a significant impact on the way medical training and assessment is carried out at training institutions in Western Australia,” Professor Wright said.
“As part of the Fellowship, Professor van der Vleuten will present public lectures at Curtin, offer specialist seminars and workshops and engage with members of the Curtin research and teaching community, including staff and students.”
Professor van der Vleuten’s public lecture will focus on the “future of medical assessment”.
“In the last 50 years, the field of assessment of professional competence has seen remarkable progress,” Professor van der Vleuten said.
“Developments in assessment technology have taken place across all areas of professional competence, ranging from cognitive to behavioural and emotional aspects of competency. In order to make assessment more meaningful for learning, we do, however, need to change our traditional ways of thinking.”
The presentation will give an account of a synthetic systems approach to assessment known as programmatic assessment. This approach will be explained and illustrated with an existing assessment practice.
Professor van der Vleuten said he was honoured to receive the 2014 Haydn Williams Fellowship.
“I am looking forward to working with Curtin University to further develop their assessment strategies in health sciences education and innovative medical education approaches to systems of teaching and learning,” Professor van der Vleuten said.
Further information on the Haydn Williams Fellowship can be found at http://research.curtin.edu.au/research-funding/haydn-williams-fellowship/
