Our first keynote speaker is Safwan Baksh.  Safwan is a second year medical student at Edinburgh University who is a widening participation student, born and brought up in Edinburgh. My hobbies are playing volleyball, doing archery and going out for food with my friends. I enjoy learning fun new skills such as solving a Rubik's cube or doing a handstand. My favourite system that I've learnt about at university so far is the Nervous System because there are a lot of unanswered questions which I find mysterious and interesting.

Our second keynote speaker is Dr Adam Capek. Adam is a Consultant Anaesthetist at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, and he has had a longstanding interest in education.  He is a Royal College of Anaesthetists College Tutor and a Medical Director for Resuscitation Council UK Advanced Life Support courses. In 2018 Adam was appointed as a Clinical Lead for Widening Access to Medicine within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.  Adam is a passionate advocate for widening participation within the medical workforce and has spoken at a number of events including the NHS Education for Scotland Scottish Medical Educators Conference 2018 and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Excellence in Education Awards evening in 2019.  Adam has been involved in the implementation of the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde "Get Ready for Medicine" work experience programme which aims to provide fair access to work experience for prospective medical students from all backgrounds.  He has also co-produced a number of online work experience resources which have all been made free-to-access and is current chair of the Medicine Outreach Glasgow Widening Access Initiative involving Health Board and University staff and students in the West of Scotland.

Adam has enjoyed collaborations with a number of local and national groups to ensure ongoing high quality widening participation resources and support throughout the pandemic.

“My Journey Into Medicine” (Safwan Baksh)

Safwan will talk about his experience of learning about medical school, applying to medical school and integrating into medical school from a widening participation background. He will discuss how his background put him me at a disadvantage compared to others and how widening participation helped to reduce that disadvantage.

“Widening Participation in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde" (Adam Capek) 

We will discuss the progression of Widening Participation in Medicine in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board and some of the challenges that remain in implementing a fair and fit-for-purpose work experience programme for candidates from all backgrounds.  We will discuss how the pandemic brought opportunities as well as problems in the delivery of Widening Participation and think about some key messages for others looking to create their own programmes.