Division of Surgery and Interventional Science student claims £500 PTES jackpot

The 2020 edition of the nationwide Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey (PTES) was open at UCL from 18 May to 15 June, with students on Master’s, PGCE, PGCert and PGDip programmes eligible to provide their feedback on UCL and its support services, as well as their programme. 

UCL postgraduates also answered three additional questions on UCL’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. You can find results from these questions on the You Shape UCL pages (UCL login required). 

Over 5,500 UCL students completed PTES 2020, which provides academic departments and support services with vital feedback on what works well and what could be improved. That amounts to a 32% response rate, an impressive sample size considering the survey was only running for four weeks.

Postgraduates who took part in the survey were entered into a prize draw, with a grand prize of £500 in cash. 

This year’s PTES jackpot winner is Dr. Sarah Ibitoye, who is completing a PG Diploma in Perioperative Medicine, while also working as a registrar at a hospital in Bristol. 

Speaking after she found out about her jackpot win, Sarah reflected on her experience on her programme so far. She was pleased to discover new medical technologies and have the chance to “move beyond textbooks and more into medical journals and articles”. 

The field of perioperative medicine focusses on giving care to patients from contemplation of surgery through to their recovery from surgery, and the programme is helping Sarah’s development and progression as a medic:

“In a few year’s time I will be looking for a Consultant’s post, and my intention is to have a role that covers acute medicine as well as perioperative medicine.”

Sarah combines work and study with raising her two young children and plans to use the cash prize “on some well-deserved days out” with the kids, as well as saving to decorate the family home. 

Results from PTES 2020

You can find the results of the additional questions examining UCL’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak in this year’s PTES survey on the You Shape UCL pages (UCL login required). These results are available at faculty, department and programme level. 

Full results from this year’s survey will be available in the same place from early August, once survey organisers Advance HE have compiled their benchmarking information to help UCL make comparisons with the sector and the Russell Group.    

Results and anonymised comments from PTES and other student surveys such as the National Student Survey play an important role in driving improvements locally and across UCL. Results feature in the Annual Student Experience Review (ASER) data set, and are discussed by staff and Student Reps at Staff-Student Consutative Committees (SSCCs).