Solent's BSc (Hons) Biomedical Science has received IBMS Accreditation

The Biomedical Science course at Solent was introduced in 2018 in response to local demands to train more young minds in health and medical sciences to support a growing NHS and industrial workforce.

The course was first accredited in 2019 after demonstrating it met the fundamental and clinical requirements of the IBMS. Over the past five years the course has undergone both staffing and structural changes and was due for reaccreditation in 2024-2025.

The process of reaccreditation was lengthy and a range of documents and evidence needed to be submitted to the IBMS prior to the main accreditation event that was hosted at Solent.

The paperwork was prepared by Sarah Radif, Jamil Jubrail, Aref Kyyaly and Mikaela Lee and submitted in July 2024 with the accreditation event held in September 2024. The accreditation event involved a tour of the facilities led by the course team, a presentation about the course delivered by Jamil and Aref, an in-depth discussion with the course team about all elements within the accreditation framework and finally a discussion with representative student cohorts about the course, tutor support, employer support and overall opportunities.

The outcome of the event was extremely positive, and the course was provisionally accredited with a set of conditions to be met. This was completed by January 2025 and then the team were asked to meet a final set of conditions which were completed by March 2025 and approved in April 2025.

IBMS accreditation is extremely important for the course because it gives Solent a USP within our city. Also, students who join the course know that the teaching and skills they learn will prepare them for future employment in the sector and allow them to complete a registration portfolio on the job post-graduation and become HCPC registered allowing them to become fully qualified Biomedical Scientists. Without this accreditation, students wishing to work in the sector would need to return to university and complete further training. Additionally, this accreditation is attractive to local employers who work with the course and who are actively looking to recruit final year graduates as trainees.

Becoming reaccredited with the IBMS for another 5 years shows how the course has kept to up-to-date with sector changes and modified itself to meet the ever-changing and ever more demanding requirements in the field. Importantly, this reaccreditation will contribute to the growth of our course even further as potential applicants will know the course prepares them superbly to enter the world of work.

Along with our new laboratory and the more advanced training we are providing to our students the future is bright for Biomedical Science at Solent.