AERO has launched!

Thank you to all AERO members for attending our launch event in March. We have synthesized your generous and insightful input as follows, and the updated roadmap document can be accessed here.

AERO will foster applied education research at a local and regional level, aiming for scalable initiatives that will lead to national and international impact.

To do so, AERO will leverage our strong community and unique context to leverage collaborations and partnerships with leading groups in our organizations, in areas like knowledge translation, faculty development, quality improvement, urban health solutions, and simulation.

In terms of scope, as you suggested, we will think big and start small. AERO will be a Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute research group: a number of researchers with shared research objectives and possibly shared facilities and funds.

As a specialized education research group, AERO will connect education practitioners and researchers, develop and offer a consultation model for high-quality scholarly work, and conduct applied education research across our health network.

We will realize the mission of mobilizing education science, driving the future of healthcare, through:

• Education research: AERO research will align with organizational priorities, and expand the education evidence base relating to local and national challenges.
• Education innovation and service: AERO members will enact and build capacity for evidence-informed education practices through their teaching and innovation, and will mobilize education knowledge in our organizations by participating on and achieving the mandates of various committees and working groups.

AERO’s first steps

• List and identify education scientists on the St. Michael’s Hospital research website: https://research.unityhealth.to/researchers/
• Include AERO members in the Education Research Community (ERC) and bimonthly conference/grant reminder emails
• Identify key project grant opportunities for select AERO members and support these applications
• Identify and hire an AERO coordinator to support AERO’s goals and mission
• Consult with select AERO members, to develop a plan for ensuring group dynamics (e.g., a membership model?), group sustainability, and how the group will impact our local community
• Continue to raise awareness of the AERO group amongst local, regional, and national research networks