From passive participants to proactive partners: How to engage students in the design, delivery and development of research using the principles of co-production

Students are key stakeholders in health professions education. Through co-production, students and educators can work in partnership to develop evidence-based improvements to their curricula, educational experiences and learning environment.¹ Co-producing research enables and empowers health professions students to shape research agendas and fosters a deeper engagement with scholarly pursuits.² They are elevated from passive subject to active producers of research while simultaneously developing collaborative relationships with their educators and contributing to the wider body of knowledge. This toolbox draws on our experiences of co-producing research, through a series of workshops and funded internships at Newcastle University, to offer practical guidance for educators interested in implementing this innovative approach to co-production in their own setting.

This toolbox was co-created alongside undergraduate medical students but is adaptable to all health professions students. It offers flexible suggestions and enough detail to guide readers through implementing co-production principles, from problem to publication, in their own setting. It consists of three stages, namely, design, delivery and development, with each phase informing the subsequent one in a continuous, cyclical manner, layering complexity at successive workshops within a cycle as well as between workshops in subsequent cycles (Figure 1). Our practical experiences are described in case study boxes across each stage.

Our programme began with a series of workshops designed to engage students and develop research ideas which successful students will later co-produce with their supervisors during the funded internship. The internships took place over the universities' summer break and lasted for 6–8 weeks. Firstly, a core team was constructed who could collaboratively plan the endeavour.

Delivery is considered with regards to session content throughout the programme and support needs during the internship phase.

Development is considered in terms of the programme and individual projects.

Co-production of education research allows educators and students to work synergistically to produce evidence-based outputs that are most salient to the undergraduate programme. The process of co-production was well received and offers an opportunity to enhance belonging, ownership and responsibility among participants while driving effective educational innovation. This practical toolbox sets out one approach to help build research skills and promote meaningful curricular change.

Heidi Stelling: Writing—original draft; conceptualization. Muzuki Ueda: Writing—review and editing; conceptualization. Fred Tilby-Jones: Writing—review and editing. Megan Brown: Writing—review and editing. Bryan Burford: Writing—review and editing. James Fisher: Writing—review and editing; conceptualization. Gillian Vance: Funding acquisition; writing—review and editing; supervision; conceptualization. Robbie Bain: Funding acquisition; Writing—review and editing; conceptualization.

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical approval was granted for this project by the Newcastle University Ethics Committee (reference 32712/2023).