A team of staff from the University of Birmingham's Dental School are celebrating after winning a prize at the Times Higher Education Supplement Awards, which took place in London earlier this month.

Giles Perryer, Ecourse Developer and Lecturer in Clinical Practice, Dr Deborah White, Director of Learning and Teaching and Head of Dental Public Health, and Professor Damien Walmsley, Chairman of ICT Committee and Professor of Restorative Dentistry, won the Outstanding ICT Initiative of the Year prize, sponsored by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC).

The prize was awarded for the school's newly developed content management system, which complements traditional learning and teaching environments and materials. The new system allows students to create their own content online as well as giving staff a way of delivering interactive learning and teaching materials. This includes a range of educational podcasts, which are available through iTunes, and video content, which helps students prepare for clinical problems at short notice.

The judges were particularly impressed by an innovation of the microscopic kind. Recently the school's content management system has been enhanced further by the development of a component-free virtual microscope, allowing students to view slides remotely.

The virtual microscope recognises what features are on a slide, and guides students to zoom in on areas of specialist interest. The system will also allow staff to create virtual patients with a variety of dental conditions to simulate the experience of testing and applying knowledge in the clinic.

Damien Walmsley, Deborah White and Giles Perryer with the award winning Ecourse in the background

Giles Perryer explained that the School has a diverse student body, who are based away from the University's main campus and also spend a significant period of time in clinics, making interactive learning particularly important.