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Press release


  • 11 August 2005
  • Universities short-listed for first dental school in South East


    A joint bid from the Universities of Brighton and Sussex to establish the first dental school in the South East outside London has been referred to Stage Two of the bidding process by the Department of Health and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE).

    The proposed dental school forms part of the Government's plans to tackle the national shortage of dentists.

    The universities in partnership with Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) plan to found a new school of dentistry in Brighton. A key component of the bid will be a novel and innovative curriculum based on a graduate entry programme lasting four years (rather than the usual five years of study). Alongside the dental students will be a new programme to train dental therapists and hygienists.

    "We want this to be a truly innovative programme that will produce a new breed of dentists for the future, working as a team with other dental professionals," says Professor Jon Cohen, Dean of BSMS. "The bid draws on the combined strengths of Brighton and Sussex Medical School with the education and research strengths of the Universities of Brighton and Sussex. In addition to educating a new generation of dentists in the South, the new school will have a strong research agenda and inform future oral health policy."

    The bid to build the new school of dentistry in Brighton has the support of the Surrey and Sussex Health Authority, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust and the local Primary Care Trusts, which share the universities' commitment to improving dental services and dental health for the community. A final decision by HEFCE on the successful bid is expected in early 2006.

     

    Notes for editors 

    For further information, please contact Press Officer Maggie Clune at the University of Sussex on 01273 678 888 or email M.T.Clune@sussex.ac.uk

     

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