Associate Professor Caroline Robinson and Dr Shan Bergin share the latest news regarding the burgeoning collaboration between the Australasian Council of Podiatry Deans and the Australian Podiatry and Education Research Foundation.
As you may already know, the Australasian Council of Podiatry Deans (ACPD) is an ASIC registered company that was formed in 2019. The membership of ACPD includes representatives from each of the podiatry education providers in Australia and New Zealand, including a member from the Australian College of Podiatric Surgeons (ACPS).
The guiding purpose of the ACPD is to promote excellence in podiatry education and this group is supported by an annual financial contribution from each of the member organisations. ACPD members do not receive payment for their services.
You are no doubt familiar with the Australian Podiatry Education and Research Foundation (APERF), which was established in 1990 to advance research into the causes, prevention and treatment of foot pain to help keep Australians healthy, active and productive. Since that time, APERF has supported more than 70 research projects.
Podiatry education research is core business for the ACPD in meeting the company’s objectives to facilitate the best educational environment that will produce competent graduates; raise awareness of the role of podiatry education; and to proactively identify and address matters that impact podiatry education locally, nationally, and internationally.
The ACPD and APERF have begun discussions about a potential collaboration that would leverage the knowledge and skills of both organisations, to enable a funding mechanism for podiatry education research. Fund management through APERF would ensure a transparent and rigorous process, with the ACPD providing eligibility criteria for project submissions.
Currently, ACPD members are leading two research projects which received funding from the Australian Podiatry Education and Research Foundation (APERF) in the 2020 round:
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) is under development and APERF will likely be ready to administer this dedicated funding stream for the 2022 round. This collaboration is a significant investment for the ACPD, ensuring an ethical and fair approach to supporting podiatry education research which will benefit the profession locally, nationally, and internationally.
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