RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences has been awarded the 2026 ASPIRE to Excellence in Healthcare Simulation Award, recognising the outstanding work of its RCSI SIM Centre for Simulation Education and Research.

The prestigious international award recognises RCSI SIM’s excellence in simulation-based education across undergraduate, postgraduate and professional programmes, spanning multiple disciplines and levels of healthcare training.

The ASPIRE judging panel commended the deep institutional integration of simulation at RCSI and strong governance structures that position simulation as a core strategic capability. The panel also recognised RCSI SIM’s theory-informed approach to curriculum design and its mature and well-supported simulated patient programme, which contributes to education, scholarship and innovation.

RCSI SIM provides simulation-based education designed to support healthcare professionals and students in developing the clinical, technical, communication and teamwork skills required to deliver safe, high-quality patient care.

The panel highlighted RCSI SIM’s faculty, technical, administrative and simulated patient development pathways, alongside its research and scholarship output and international dissemination.

The judges also commended the culture of continuous quality improvement, with evidence of ongoing evaluation informing educational practice. RCSI SIM’s focus on sustainability, including responsible resource stewardship and Green Lab Certification, was also recognised.

In its feedback, the ASPIRE panel described RCSI SIM’s research and scholarship output as exceptional, with international dissemination and demonstrated leadership in advancing simulation-based education. The panel also recognised the Centre’s extensive external engagement, including outreach to schools, industry and the public, reinforcing its national and international influence.

Professor Cathal Kelly, Vice Chancellor of RCSI, said: “This prestigious international recognition is a testament to the dedication and expertise of the RCSI SIM team and to their commitment to innovation and excellence in healthcare education. Simulation is an integral part of how we prepare our students and healthcare professionals to deliver safe, high-quality care. I am particularly proud that the ASPIRE Award recognises not only the quality of RCSI SIM’s educational practice, but also the culture of collaboration, research and continuous improvement that underpins its work, which reflects RCSI’s commitment to advancing healthcare education for the benefit of patients and human health.”

Professor Claire Condron, Director of RCSI SIM, said: “We are incredibly proud to receive the AMEE ASPIRE to Excellence in Healthcare Simulation Award, which benchmarks our work against internationally recognised standards of excellence and provides valuable external validation of the quality and impact of RCSI SIM’s educational approach. The award reflects many years of work by the entire RCSI SIM team to embed simulation as an integral part of healthcare education, underpinned by evidence, innovation and continuous evaluation.”

The successful application was led by a team from RCSI SIM comprising Professor Claire Condron (Director), Dr Claire Mulhall (Lecturer), Dr Andrea Doyle (Research Fellow), Dr Marwa Aly (Research Programme Manager), Rebecca Kirrane (Senior Clinical Skills and Simulation Technician), Carla Alasia (Operations Coordinator) and Dermot Daly (Operations Manager) with the support of the full RCSI SIM team.

The annual ASPIRE Awards highlight the very best in health professions education worldwide. The 2026 award builds on RCSI’s previous success in the programme, including the 2025 ASPIRE to Excellence Award for International Collaboration in Health Professions Education, awarded to the long-standing collaboration between RCSI’s Institute of Global Surgery and the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA) and the 2022 award for Student Engagement.