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University of Salford and partners expand Prosthetics & Orthotics training with international scholarship award

Monday 24 June 2019

THE University of Salford has announced the award of an international scholarship to the Centre for Doctoral Training in Prosthetics and Orthotics (CDT). The £140,000 scholarship will fund the PhD work of eminent Cambodian practitioner Sisary Kheng, who brings with her extensive experience and expertise from a region most in need of prosthetics and orthotics services.

The £140,000 donation has been made by the Coles-Medlock Foundation, a charitable trust that looks to support projects that give relief to people in the UK and around the world. David Medlock, Chair of the Trust is an alumnus of the University of Salford.

Sisary Kheng is Country Director at Exceed (formerly the Cambodia Trust), overseeing Exceed World wide’s projects at three clinics in Cambodia in the fields of Comprehensive Physical Rehabilitation. 

Sisary has been involved in prosthetics and orthotics education, CBR and clinical service management since 2001 and has a wealth of experience in this area. Commenting on her successful scholarship application, she said: “I’m delighted to have been given the opportunity to pursue my doctoral training at the Salford CDT. For over 20 years, I have been working with patients and students in this important field of work, which provides genuinely life-changing support to people living with disabilities from medical, educational and societal perspectives.”

 “I am looking forward to starting the next phase of my education and research in this field at Salford – an institution that I know shares my values of the highest levels of partnership and collaboration to affect real and lasting societal change.”

In February this year, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) announced it would fund a new centre of excellence for prosthetics and orthotics training. Led by the University of Salford with its partners Imperial College London, the University of Strathclyde and the University of Southampton, the Centre will train at least 60 individuals to doctoral level over the next eight years. This addresses an important prosthetic and orthotic skills gap at home and abroad including in many low and middle-income countries, such as Cambodia.

Through the Centre, Salford is partnered with more than 27 industry and clinical collaborators, including two of the largest manufacturers of prosthetic and orthotic devices, Blatchford and Össur, and the global leader in research in the field, NorthWestern University in the US.

Speaking on the scholarship award, Centre director Malcolm Granat, Professor of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Salford said: “We’re delighted to welcome Sisary to train at the CDT. She brings an enormous amount of knowledge and practical experience of prosthetics and orthotics in action. As part of her scholarship application, we were particularly impressed with her personal story of overcoming adversity and of her high levels of talent in and commitment to the field of prosthetics and orthotics.”

“As part of her training programme, Sisary will be supported by national and global industry, and clinical, patient and service partnerships, who will ensure high-quality training, and provide placement and employment opportunities.”

Vice Chancellor of the University of Salford, Professor Helen Marshall said: “The CDT was established to train both UK and international students. Sisary comes from a region where the need for prosthetics and orthotics is high, and we are proud to be able to award her with this scholarship as part of our vision to develop a talented workforce who will provide real-world solutions both in the UK and globally.

“It is thanks to our partnerships with industry in this area that we are able to make our vision a reality.” 

Student applications to the CDT are open.  Any enquiries to be sent to: cdt@salford.ac.uk

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Sam Wood

0161 295 5361