This March we farewell Dr Chris Roche, who is leaving his position as Head of STEM at St Andrew’s to take up clinical work as a surgeon in the UK. Chris has been an integral part of Education and Student Life at the College since he started as a tutor, and was appointed Head of STEM in 2021.
St Andrew’s College maintains an academic learning model in which Heads of Faculty like Chris, (leading a team of Senior Academic Tutors and Academic Tutors) oversee the delivery of subject tutorials, academic mentoring sessions and academic skills workshops. Chris said:
“Working for St Andrew’s has been a real privilege. I did a PhD whilst working there and St Andrew’s was like the academic rock that helped keep the whole thing anchored, especially during COVID-related disruptions. The academic milieu they’ve created there is something special and I’ll go back to the UK telling everyone it really deserves its place as one of the elite tertiary educational institutions of the world.”
During his time at College, Chris was also part of a multi-disciplinary team that invented novel surgical instruments and systems to regenerate damaged cardiac tissues using minimally invasive robotic surgery. Read more about this world-first proof of concept here: https://doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2021.714356
The HeartStamp, as the instrument is known, recently won the UK Cutlers’ Surgical Prize. This prestigious prize is run in conjunction with the Royal College of Surgeons and recognises a surgeon (or a team including a surgeon) who has performed outstanding work in technical advances in surgical treatment.
Will Cesta, Director of Education & Student Life said:
“Dr Roche has made an extraordinary contribution to the St Andrew’s College community, both as a tutor and a mentor. His caring nature and deep knowledge of science and medicine gave him the capacity to help his students thrive. As the head of our STEM Faculty, Dr Roche led with passion and energy. His ability to inspire his team of tutors and implement structural reforms seamlessly never ceased to impress. I am delighted that Dr Roche was able to be part of the interview panel responsible for finding his successor, who has big shoes to fill!”
Faculty Heads additionally contribute to College courses such as the Certificate of Cross-Disciplinary Problem Solving, and develop academic policy that ensure the ongoing improvement of the College’s educational offerings. During 2021, the Academic Team provided tutorial support for 125 individual subjects, and ran more than 1200 tutorials during the academic year.
Chris offered a number of these sessions over the years, and made an incredible impact on students. Dyone Bettega (Fr 2018) stated she was “very fortunate to access incredible academic support and tutorials with Dr Chris Roche … who always has the best anatomy mnemonics and life advice.”
Chris also recently facilitated a Graduate Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT) roundtable with two other specialist GAMSAT tutors in his team at St Andrew’s. GAMSAT is a requirement for graduate entry to medicine, as well as various other dentistry, optometry and podiatry courses. The event was created to support students undertaking the test, with advice and resources relating to the application process. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv9iTiUphyY
Students, alumni and the College community can keep in touch with Chris via his website: https://www.underdogmentoring.com/
We at St Andrew’s wish Chris all the best in his endeavours and thank him for his contribution to the College. We’re looking forward to seeing what he does next!