Award win for medical education access partnership

A project providing bursaries to enable healthcare professionals to access specialist postgraduate medical education, from cardiology to clinical psychiatry, has been recognised with a national award.

Learna – the University’s online delivery partner – received the Partnership of the Year award at the recent PIEoneer Awards 2026.

The award recognises Learna’s partnership with The Harwood Charitable Trust, delivered in collaboration with the University of South Wales (USW) and the University of Buckingham, to widen global access to postgraduate medical education.

Through a bursary scheme, offering 50% fee reductions, the partnership supported 24 healthcare professionals across 14 countries in 2025 — including Afghanistan, Colombia, Fiji, Lesotho, and Pakistan — studying specialities from cardiology and endocrinology to genomic medicine and clinical psychiatry.

The judges recognised the strength of the three-way partnership. The Harwood Charitable Trust funds the bursaries, Learna delivers the clinically focused online programmes, and USW and the University of Buckingham provide the academic validation and quality assurance that ensures graduates receive internationally recognised qualifications.

Professor Osama Khan, USW Vice-Chancellor, said: “Congratulations to Learna on this fantastic achievement. Winning this award reflects the dedication, expertise and passion that has enabled the partnership to successfully deliver. We are proud to support Learna and to work together in expanding access to high-quality education that makes a real difference to learners and their professions."

Courtenay Probert, Learna CEO, said: “We are proud to accept this award on behalf of a true partnership. The Harwood Charitable Trust's funding and the academic validation from the University of South Wales enable us to do what we do best: deliver clinically focused, flexible postgraduate education to healthcare professionals wherever they are. What matters most is the clinicians who were able to study specialities and the patients they care for. Widening access to high-quality medical education is our reason for being, and we are proud to see it recognised.”