Need: Confident critical appraisal and ability to engage and discuss with Medical practitioners regarding Random Clinical Trials and Real World Evidence studies, a key capability for Global Medical Affairs Asosciates.
Solution: A program (foundational to advanced) was designed in collaboration with Dr. Narinder Gosall to help Associates effectively evaluate and analyse the statistical results of clinical study papers. A critical part of the solution was a 3-month post-course critical appraisal of real studies to Novartis RCT and RWE expert panel. Over 300 Global Medical Affairs Associations were trained.
“Evaluating clinical study papers critically is a sophisticated skill required by Novartis Medical Leads, involving a blend of statistical analysis and interpretation articulated in discussions with Medical Practitioners. As the Subject Matter Expert for this initiative, I received guidance from Meredith on how to elicit these advanced thinking and behavioral skills. Our collaboration as SME and Learning Expert proved to be a crucial element for the success of the program*.”
“Meredith's innovative methods, including highly contextualized learning and integrating training into daily tasks, have resulted in impressive skill acquisition rates up to (75%) and confidence levels (80%). More significant is how Associates had demonstrated the desired behavioral change in the 3-month post-course critical appraisal of studies to experts in the field.”
Maha Khaled, Exec Dir. Global Medical Affairs and Scientific Excellence
Need: Effective collaboration and LEAN behaviours in clinical trial teams (i.e. scientific expert, operations, safety, regulatory and statisticial and clinical study director) to reduce costly protocol amendments in the design of complex clinical study protocols.
Solution: Create behavioural change through role simulations and real-time technology- supported feedback and inputs. Participants dynamically receive input from stakeholders and continually improve performance over a 3 day-workshop where learning interventions, gamification and team contracts were tools used to work on increasingly complex case studies. Over 400 global drug development Associates completed the workshop with highly positive evaluation results and high transferrability to their work.
“Meredith has a magical ability to make upskilling on complex skills such as the Development of Effective Protocols, fun and deeply experiential. Meredith led the Subject Matter Experts to effectively facilitate the interactive workshops to great effect. The program was not only about designing protocols but the learnings included effective collaboration, both of which were supported by simulations and iPad technology as feedback mechanisms to participants working on cases.”
“In 2019, Meredith has been of enormous support to the Patient Reported Outcomes Center of Excellence in Novartis. She drove the design and development of a complex training program that has been instrumental in ensuring impact and visibility. … completed by 100 people in 2 months – a large number for the topic. The program was of high quality, highly engaging and informative.”
Dr Francesco Patalano - Patalano Consulting GmbH - former Head of PCO CoE - Novartis
Need: Break down the language barrier to expressing critical thought.
Solution: Use video and online discussion forums as part of a ‘layered learning technique’ as an effective approach to develop critical thinking for ethnic groups for whom English is not their first language. Further, the book chapter version describes the significant improvement in critical thinking using effective questioning techniques used in the course.
“Meredith was the Faculty of Business Learning Consultant at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Australia who supported academics in improving their teaching and learning techniques. We found a common interest in critical thinking and decided to address one of the more common problems in multi-cultural learners – non-verbalized critical thinking amongst student whose first language was not English. Meredith is a fantastic collaborator !”
Kathryn M. Whiteley, Feminist Criminologist, Consultant - Researcher, College Professor
Need: Develop the capabilities of Novartis Associates as “digital innovation contributors”
Solution: Development of a capability framework to clearly define “digital contributors” and skills-based learning solution so that non-IT Associates could meaningfully and participate in digital innovation and work in effective partnership with digital experts. The skills targeted ranged from identifying opportunities to incubation of the innovation product or service related to global drug development.
“I approached you because the first design of our program was not learner-centric. It would have been easy for us to lift and shift but you guided the project every step of the way to come up with something that will actually make a difference for the learner. You helped us to be future-ready.”
Need: Upskill Traffic Officers, Operators and Supervisors with high level of operational skills to reduce stoppages, increase recovery, improve sugar quality, reduce damage to equipment, and reduce OH&S and environmental impacts.
Solution: In collaboration with sugar mill experts, self-paced modules for ‘at factory’ learning were developed and provided via federated access which, thereby facilitated a standardized benchmark across the sugar industry. Packages are comprised of supporting learning resources such as gamifications and animations, walkthrough tour guides, troubleshooting guides and assessments of industry-required competencies.
“Meredith was instrumental in developing the curricula and course design for the TOTrain and SOTrain training packages for the sugar industry in Australia. Her skill in assessing the actual skills gap and transforming this insight into an industry recognized program led to the implementation of effective and standardized practices in sugar mill staff across the country. Her capacity to collaborate with technical experts at all levels, from traffic controllers to mill supervisors and academic specialists, was vital to the success of this national training initiative.”
Prof. Geoff Kent, Principal Research Fellow in the Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy
Need: The Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a valued partner of engineering industry - oil and gas, mining, power engineering and civil engineering.
One of these QUT partnerships was to help Shell with one of their strategies by enabling project managers with capabilities to meet business objectives, excel in project management practices and, importantly, embed safe practices under the principle of zero harm.
Solution“Reframing the Development of Corporate Learning” is one of these academic-industry program partnerships. This paper describes the innovative approach used to stakeholder engagement and learning design methodology used in the Shell Project Management Academy.
“I served on the Faculty Leadership team for the Engineering Program at Queensland University of Technology in Australia. During this period, I observed the impressive achievements of Meredith in our corporate initiatives, including the Shell Project Academy and the Power Engineering and Electricity Supply program, where she played a crucial role in designing and developing curricula and courses alongside Faculty and Industry leaders. Despite not being an engineer, she has demonstrated a remarkable ability to communicate effectively with technical experts in the engineering domain.”
Need: Marketing students needed to be equipped with competencies such as decision-making, risk taking, and problem-solving during crisis situations.
Solution: This 2005 EDiNEB (Education Innovation in Economics and Business) award-winning solution stands out for its pioneering work in authentic learning within high-risk crisis environments. It was ahead of its time in successfully utilizing simulation and immersive virtual reality technology. Results are in several publications (1, 2, 3) showing positive impact and significant improvements in understanding crisis-type problems, enhancing enjoyment and motivation, as well as the quality and usability of information received through the VR simulation. The solution also excelled in delivering relevant content, critical thinking, user satisfaction, and the development of marketing skills.