The HSMA Programme
Who can attend?
The HSMA programme is designed for staff based in health and social care organisations and the police service. Associates are selected on the basis of their current role, their analytical and computer skills and experience, and the completion of our suite of training modules, as well as an evaluation of their proposed project.
The Round 6 cohort of the HSMA Programme began in April 2024. The programme is the first course to be accredited by the Association of Professional Healthcare Analysts (AphA).
What will I learn?
Associates are released for one day a week for up to 15 months from their substantive roles to undertake advanced modelling, simulation and analysis work on specific projects within their own organisations. They receive mentoring, support and training from our operational research team.
The programme is split into two phases.
In Phase 1 (6 months), participants are taught a huge range of skills in Operational Research and Data Science via live online lectures and group exercises, including:
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Programming in Python and R (no prior knowledge of programming required)
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Discrete Event Simulation to model pathway and queuing problems
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System Dynamics to model whole systems
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Geographic Modelling and Visualisation methods to model location issues
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Agent Based Simulation to model behaviour
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Artificial Intelligence (AI) approaches, such as Machine Learning to teach machines to make decisions, and Natural Language Processing to extract information from free text data
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Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) development methods and tools
At any point during the programme a HSMA can register a project. By registering a project, the HSMA will receive a dedicated Slack channel that can be used to develop the project proposal, invite collaborators from the HSMA community, post updates of progress and ask for support. Phase 2 (9 months), will allow current HSMAs to undertake their Inception Project – first modelling or data science project – with access to a community of experts and regular drop in sessions for support.
We will only be able to register and support projects that are related to the modelling and data science areas taught within the HSMA programme and are in the areas of health, social care and policing.
Find out more
Visit the HSMA resources website to:
- find out more about joining the programme
- access a range of resources including examples of recent projects
- watch recent seminars and presentations
Applications for HSMA 6 are now closed. If you’d like to be added to our mailing list to find out about the next round of the programme, please email penchord@exeter.ac.uk