European Masters Degree in Clinical

Movement Analysis (CMAster)

Project Number: 518545-LLP-1-2011-1UKERASMUS- ECDSP
Grant Agreement: 2011-3958/001-001
Sub-programme or KA: ERASMUS

Final Report

Public Part

Project information
Project acronym:

CMAster

Project title:

European Masters Degree in Clinical Movement

Analysis

Project number:

518545-LLP-1-2011-1-UK-ERASMUS-ECDSP

Sub-programme or KA:

ERASMUS

Project website:

www.cmaster.eu

Reporting period:

From
To

1/10/2012

30/11/2014

Report version:

Version 1

Date of preparation:

15 December 2014

Beneficiary organisation:

University of Salford

Project coordinator:

Prof Richard Baker

Project coordinator organisation:

University of Salford

Project coordinator telephone number:

+44 (0)161 295 2465

Project coordinator email address:

r.j.baker@salford.ac.uk

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission
cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained
therein.

2008 Copyright Education, Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency.

The document may be freely copied and distributed provided that no modifications are made, that the
source is acknowledged and that this copyright notice is included.

Executive Summary
Clinical movement analysis uses advanced technology to measure how people with
limited walking abilities move. A biomechanical analysis of these data can guide
prescription of a range of interventions (surgery, drug prescription, splinting or
therapy) and evaluate outcomes. There is a small but growing demand for health
professionals to work in this rapidly developing sub-speciality within Europe but no
advanced education programmes to support them. This project is to establish the first
masters level programme in clinical movement analysis anywhere in the world.
The objectives of the project as agreed with the Lifelong Learning Programme are:
1. To develop a curriculum for a Joint Masters Degree in Clinical Movement
Analysis through developing three parallel programmes within the partner
institutions to commence in September 2014.
2. To develop a plan for integrating these into a joint masters degree to
commence in 2017.
3. To develop programme specific shared services to support the implementation
of the parallel programmes and to plan how generic service will need to be
adapted to support the joint masters degree
4. To write a business plan for exploitation and sustainability.
All four objectives have been met. The University of Salford enrolled its first students
on a part-time work-based distance learning programme in 2013 and VU Amsterdam
and KU Leuven on full-time residential programmes in 2014. All three programmes
are covered by an Erasmus agreement for student mobility between universities of at
least 3 months which is to be documented in a Diploma Supplement. The curriculum
for a joint degree between University of Salford and VU Amsterdam (with KU Leuven
providing additional learning resources) has been agreed along with a plan for this to
be implemented from 2017.
A feature of the project has been strong engagement with key stakeholders and the
wider user community. There have been stakeholder meetings in Glasgow,
Stockholm and at the project launch at the 1st Clinical Movement Analysis World
Congress in Rome and two stakeholder consultations. The Stakeholder Directory is
the most comprehensive listing of movement analysis services across Europe and
the European Context Report a snapshot of that community and its education and
training needs.
That analysis revealed that a large majority of health professionals within clinical
movement analysis already have a masters degree or higher in another discipline
and that there is an additional market opportunity for masters level education
delivered through more flexible continuing professional development activities rather
than formal masters programmes. Out of the project has the vision has thus evolve
to establish the CMAster Consortium as the worlds leading provider of advanced
education and training in clinical movement analysis over the next five years.

Table of Contents
1.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES .................................................................................... 5

2.

PROJECT APPROACH ...................................................................................... 6

3.

PROJECT OUTCOMES & RESULTS................................................................. 7

4.

PARTNERSHIPS ................................................................................................ 9

5.

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE .............................................................................. 10

6.

CONTRIBUTION TO EU POLICIES ................................................................. 11

7.

EXTRA HEADING/SECTION ................... ERROR! BOOKMARK NOT DEFINED.

1.

Project Objectives

The primary objective was to develop a curriculum for a joint masters degree in
Clinical Movement Analysis and the secondary objectives to establish support
services and an exploitation plan to implement this. Out of these initial objectives has
developed to vision to establish the CMAster consortium as the worlds leading
provider of education and training in clinical movement analysis over the next
five years.
Clinical movement analysis uses the same high technology approach used to capture
the movements of actors to create animated movies to capture the movement of
people with walking disabilities. The information is then used by a range of health
professionals as a guide to prescribing treatment. There is a small but rapidly
growing demand for health professionals specifically trained to perform movement
analysis assessments and CMAster aims to establish a European programme of
training and education at masters level to support them.
The new masters programme will be the first anywhere in the world to address the
specific needs of the clinical movement analysis community. A particular challenge is
that staff working in clinical movement analysis services tend to have either a clinical
or technical background whereas what is required is staff educated and trained
across the full spectrum of competencies. Graduates of the new programme will be
the first of a new generation purposefully trained as specialist clinical gait analysts.
This technical/clinical divide is a particular issue for management of services with few
service managers possessing a full spectrum of knowledge. As the new CMAster
cohort moves to more senior positions they will be in a much better position to
implement services of the very highest quality.
The end user is, of course, the citizen who has difficulty walking. Recent estimates
suggest that 10% of the population find it difficult to walk 400m and this will increase
with the ageing population, rising obesity and falling levels of exercise. CMAster is
equipping a new generation of European clinical movement analysts to deliver
services to support this population.

2.

Project Approach

The project has three phases. The first two, Specification and Development, were
funded by this grant. The third, Delivery, is continuing after funding has ended.
The Specification phase started with familiarisation. Three familiarisation meetings
were used to cement relationships and promote the project within the various
institutions. A range of information about existing resources and institution policies
and procedures governing the introduction of new taught programmes was gathered.
A survey of European clinical gait analysis services was also conducted to define the
pattern of service delivery across Europe and identify the training needs within that
community. This was followed up with in depth teleconference with selected services
and wider discussion at meetings of both the associate partners and an open
stakeholder consultation in Stockholm in 2012. This consultative process was used to
define the core competencies required of a clinical movement analyst in the
emerging European environment.
Having defined the requirement and the environment within this was to be delivered
the Development phase commenced. Although the original grant envisaged direct
planning of a full joint degree by all three partners it became clear that this was not
possible as a short-term aim. The principal barrier to this was a legislation enacted in
Belgium shortly after the application was lodged effectively preventing the creation of
new international masters programmes. After consultation with the Lifelong Learning
Programme it was agreed that the aims would be modified to planning for the
delivery of a full joint programme between Salford and Amsterdam from 2017 and the
development of three parallel programmes, one at each of the partner universities
from 2014. These are linked both by aiming to delivering the same core
competencies and by student mobility with the research components (about a third of
the programme) being taken at a different university to the taught component.
During this phase the curricula for all three parallel programmes and for the full joint
programme have been determined and the support services and quality assurance
services essential to their delivery have been established. A repository for learning
materials from all three institutions has been created and a web-site for the project
has been developed. An exploitation plan to ensure the on-going sustainability of the
project has also been developed which includes a comprehensive recruitment
database.
Building on the success of the first two phases funded by the EU the partners have
now embarked on the Delivery phase of the parallel programmes. The three year
part-time programme at the University of Salford started enrolment in September
2013 and the full time programmes at VU Amsterdam and KU Leuven in 2014. The
exploitation plan focussed on the consolidation of these for the next year followed by
a two year programme leading to enrolment of the first students in the joint
programme in September 2017.

3.

Project Outcomes & Results

The early outcomes were largely internal. The familiarisation process resulted in the
Institutional Mapping Report (Deliverable 2.2) describing the three institutions, their
existing provision related to clinical movement analysis, their resources and the
regulatory framework within which they operate. A Definitive Workplan (Deliverable
1.2) was prepared in two phases outlining the path through the Specification and
Development phases. A later Exploitation Plan (Deliverable 8.1) maps out the
process for continued and sustained development beyond the funding period.
A review of European clinical movement analysis services was conducted resulting in
the European Context Report (Deliverable 3.1) which summarises the status of
clinical movement analysis with Europe. This includes an in depth analysis of what
services are being offered where by which professional groups as a reference
document for defining the requirement for training and education at masters level. A
parallel document, the Key Competencies Report (Deliverable 3.2) was developed in
consultation with the wider community to define the key competences that are
required of a clinical gait analyst. The Professional and Ethical Issues Report
(Deliverable 6.2) identified a range of issues that will affect the delivery of masters
level education in this area and proposes how these should be handled.
The short-term objective (after modifications agreed with the Lifelong Learning
Programme) was the planning of three parallel programmes, one at each of the
partner institutions with all offering training and education to deliver the same key
competencies. Each programme builds on the strengths of the host university and
allows for student mobility (a minimum of three months) for students to study at one
of the partner universities.
These are now operating:

The University of Salford started to deliver a part-time work-based distance

learning programme in September 2013. It lasts for two years and the first
cohort of students are now nearing the half-way point of their studies.

VU Amsterdam are offering a Clinical Movement Analysis stream within their

established Human Movement Science Research Masters programme which
commenced in September 2014. It lasts for three semesters over 1 years.

KU Leuven have developed a new pathway within their Human Movement

Science programme with a specialisation in Biomedical Kinesiology which also
commenced in September 2014. It lasts for two years.

The parallel programmes increase student choice. Students wishing to study parttime whilst continuing to work are ideally served by the distance learning programme
at the University of Salford. The other two Universities offer more conventional
residential programmes with VU Amsterdam offering a more technical approach
whereas KU Leuvens is more clinical. The content of the programmes is fully
documented in the Curriculum (Deliverable 3.3) and there is a separate deliverable
describing Support Services (Deliverable 4).
A specific finding of the European Context Report is that a large majority of staff
working in clinical movement services within Europe have moved into the field midcareer. The majority already have a masters or higher degree (in another discipline)
but still perceive the need for advanced education and training in clinical movement

analysis. This has led the CMAster Consortium to develop a programme of short
courses to support continuing professional development to run alongside the Masters
programme. Two three day courses have been run as part of this programme (total of
58 delegates from 14 different countries) and another two are planned.
The longer-term objective is to deliver a joint programme between the University of
Salford and VU Amsterdam. The Exploitation Plan (Deliverable 8.1) provides a road
map to achieve this through a two year development programme commencing in
2015 with the aim of the first students enrolling in September 2017.
The project has worked hard to involve stakeholders and develop the profile of the
CMAster consortium within the European clinical movement analysis community.
There have been three Stakeholder Meetings (in Glasgow, Stockholm and Rome,
Deliverables 5.2a,b and c) and two Stakeholder Consultations (Deliverables 5.3a and
b). A Stakeholder Directory (Deliverable 5.1) was compiled and this has now been
further developed to form the Recruitment database (Deliverable 8.2). The formal
launch (Deliverable 8.3) consolidated the profile of the project within European
Clinical Movement through integration within the formal programme of the 1st Clinical
Movement Analysis World Congress in Rome in October 2014.
The project has also delivered key advancements in on-line collaboration. The Virtual
Workspace (Deliverable 7.1) has combined on-line file sharing and tele-conferencing
facilities to provide a platform for virtual steering group meetings on a monthly basis
through much of the project. All three partners use the Blackboard (Toledo) virtual
learning environment so less work was required on developing a common system
than had been envisaged (Deliverable 7.2). A repository has been developed to allow
sharing of learning materials. One of the most exciting deliverables has been the
development of new Data Exchange Tools (Deliverable 7.3). Whilst these have been
designed for the specific requirements of education in clinical movement analysis
they have been found to have much wider application whenever students and
teachers want to share access to a wider range of software resources by creating a
virtual desktop imaging tool.

4.

Partnerships

The partners are three European Universities (Salford, VU Amsterdam and KU

Leuven) with an established interested in education and research in this discipline
area. VU Amsterdam has the one of the largest faculties of Human Movement
Science in Europe. KU Leuven is widely recognised as operating the most advanced
clinical gait analysis services and Prof Desloovere has been instrumental in
developing the premier international short course (3 days) in clinical movement
analysis with leading institutions in the United States. The University of Salford is
internationally renowned for its clinical biomechanics and has Professor Baker who
has recently been appointed as the Worlds first Professor of Clinical Gait Analysis.
The lead partners at each institution were well known to each other before the project
and these relationships have been consolidated through the project. This has been
complemented by other with specialist expertise such as Kirsten Bijker, (Education
Director, Faculty of Human Movement Science), Stijn Van Laer (Audio-Visual and
New Educational Technologies, Leuven).
The project is embedded within the European movement analysis community. The
partners are all respected leaders of that community (Prof Harlaar is currently
President of the European Society for Movement Analysis in Adults and Children).
The Associate Partner network has created formal links with all the regional and
national academic societies and a majority of clinical services and industry across the
EU. The network of partners is strongest in the larger more establish states but
extends to new member states. This reflects the current status of clinical movement
analysis within Europe and is likely to be an important stimulus for progressing the
field particularly within the developing states.
There is strong support for the CMAster initiative with in the Clinical Movement
Analysis community across Europe both for what it can achieve directly through its
provision of education but also through its potential to reinforce links across that
community through encouraging staff mobility through clinical placements and
internships.
Perhaps the biggest added value of working with multi-country partnerships is the
establishment of a critical mass for educational provision in this area. It is a niche
professional specialisation and educational provision within any single country would
not be economically viable. It is only through working at a multi-country level that
progress in this area is possible at all.

5.

Plans for the Future

The Exploitation Plan (Deliverable 8.1) maps out a vision for the CMAster consortium
to become the worlds leading provider of advanced (masters level) education and
training in clinical movement analysis over the next five years.
The first stage of this is the consolidation of the three new parallel programmes which
have all now commenced and will all produce their first graduates in 2016. Full
evaluation of two Pilot Modules (Deliverables 3.6a and b) have been conducted and
used to enhance programme design. A Steering Group has been formally constituted
to review progress and ensure continuing convergence to these programmes. Within
the Exploitation Plan is a marketing plan focussing on active promotion using the
Recruitment Database (Deliverable 8.2), taster experiences and the External Face to
the Virtual Learning Environment (Deliverable 5.6).
The Exploitation Plan also outlines a programme leading through to the introduction
of the new joint masters programme in clinical movement analysis to enrol its first
students in September 2017. This involves three phases over the next three years.
The first is a reflection phase on what can be learnt from the first year delivering the
three parallel programmes. The second requires detailed planning focussing of how
modified timetabling requirements will be managed and of how governance
requirements of both universities will be fulfilled. This will lead to formal ratification of
the programme by both universities in September 2016 giving a year for further
refinement before the first students are commence their studies.
Alongside this will be the development of a range of short courses for continuing
professional development. An important part of this will be the exploitation of
conventional routes within the UK to deliver components of a full masters
programme for lesser qualifications (PGCert, PGDip). Such provision is likely to
appeal to health professionals within Europe who may have little interest in obtaining
a formal masters degree (because they already have one) but are still committed to
pursuing education in clinical movement analysis at this advanced level. This will be
particularly powerful if it can build on the work-based distance learning techniques
that have been developed through the CMAster project.

6.

Contribution to EU policies

This project arose from a consideration of the changing needs of the healthcare
workforce as envisaged Health and Social Services: Comprehensive sectoral
analysis of emerging competences and economic activities in the European Union
(2009). This identified Health Associate Professionals (HAPs) as the fastest growing
professional group and technical knowledge to guarantee state-of-the-art services
as their primary requirement. Increasing specialisation across multi-disciplinary
domains poses a specific challenge. Key recommendations of New Skills for New
Jobs: Action Now (2010) were that we need to make education and training more
flexible and more open for innovation and enhance relationships between skills
providers and employers and establish skills-based qualifications.
Clinical movement analysis is a particularly good example of such an emerging high
technology field within healthcare and the CMAster project is thus directly addressing
these policy objectives. By nature new and emerging technologies within health care
tend to be niche activities and the CMAster project will have a wider role in
establishing a model for educational provision to support development in unrelated
areas but which have similar characteristics.
Whilst joint degrees are important instruments for implementing the objectives set out
in the Bologna Declaration and Prague Communiqu it is clear from our experience
that individual higher education institutes are less enthusiastic about their
implementation than are the European authorities. Our experience is that this is
particularly challenging for smaller programmes aimed at small user communities
which cannot guarantee institutions substantial return on investment. This is a
particular concern given that one of the potential strengths of joint programmes must
be to deliver specific educational provision to small user communities that would not
be viable at national level. The experience of this consortium in pushing this
particular proposal though to a full joint programme will thus contribute to realising
the full potential that joint programmes within Europe have to offer.