About the Digital Health Leadership Programme

Digital Health Leadership Programme (DHLP)

Including key dates, time commitments, funding and learner support information.

Background

The Digital Health Leadership Programme (DHLP) is a flagship NHS Digital Academy programme. Established in 2017 following a Secretary of State commitment on the back of the Wachter Review, it aims to address the need to develop and invest in supporting our digital change leaders.

DHLP has since inception been delivered by the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London (and partners) and is now about to enter its 8th cohort, with learners due to start their journey from September 2025. Around 700 change leaders have been part of the programme to date.

The upcoming 10 year plan for the NHS is expected to highlight the importance of embracing the (mission) shift from Analogue to Digital and this programme will – we anticipate – continue to play an important role in directly supporting the people responsible for leading this shift.  

What is the Digital Health Leadership Programme?

The programme is a 12-month fully accredited Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) in Digital Health Leadership, delivered by the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London (and partners), with places funded centrally through the NHS Digital Academy. It is delivered through 8 modules via a mixed delivery model including self-learning with group virtual and group face-to-face sessions. Participants who successfully complete the PGDip have the option to extend their learning journey by completing a master’s degree (subject to participants securing their own funding, this master’s option is not funded centrally).  

We are recruiting a further 60 change leaders from across the NHS in England to participate in this upcoming Cohort 8 and, notably for this cohort, there will be a strong focus on learners demonstrating, through agreed measures, the direct impact/value of the learning on the change they are leading. 

The programme is aimed at: 

  • People who currently hold a role (accountability and responsibility) for leading change through implementing and/or optimising digital transformation in their organisation and can demonstrate their experience of leading digital change
  • People with the ability, intelligence, drive, personality and opportunity to apply the learning and demonstrate (through agreed measures) the value of it in their current role
  • People who recognise the importance of user-focused digital change and the impact its use has on the workforce, including perceptions, motivations and attitudes of people related to digital change and transformation
  • People who want to influence their organisation’s digital strategy and can see their place in doing this
  • People who recognise the opportunity (and significant investment in them) this programme brings and what they can bring to peers in their learning cohort, both during and as alumni.

Key dates

Application window open – from now until Tuesday 24 June 2025
  • Submit your application form
    • This will be in 2 parts: when you have submitted the first part of the application, with your (general) details, a subsequent form will automatically be emailed to you to enable you to complete and submit the 5 questions for assessment
  • You also require a sponsor who will be expected to submit a form
    • With a supporting statement - in support of your application. When you have submitted your initial form, this form will be automatically emailed to you also to enable you to complete sponsor details. See Sponsor Requirements for more detail. 
       
Assessing applications – Period Wednesday 25 June to Friday 4 July 2025
  • The NHS Digital Academy will assess your application using (only) on the information provided in the 5 assessment questions and having a sponsor who provides appropriate support for the application 
Outcomes communicated - by Friday 4 July 2025
  • You will be notified if you have been successful or unsuccessful in your application
    • If successful, you will start your enrolment and onboarding process with Imperial College London immediately. At this point you will be required to submit your Imperial College London application (note, this is not an additional scored assessment process, more enrolment and onboarding). This will be reviewed by the College’s admissions team. You will need supporting documentation (e.g. relevant qualification certificates; proof of English language proficiency) to successfully obtain a place
    • If you are placed on the reserve list, you will be notified before the start of Cohort 8 if a place has become available for you
Learning begins
  • Learning begins - September2025

Teaching dates

Teaching for Cohort 8 of the Digital Health Leadership Programme will commence from 10 September 2025. The deadline for the final assessment is the end of August 2026. In-person leadership forums – which are important to attend and bring exceptional value through their dedicated, face-to-face nature - will take place on the below dates: 

  • 29 and 30 September 2025 in York
  • 15 April 2026 in London
  • 2 July 2026 (location tbc, likely Birmingham or Manchester)

The end of Cohort 8 celebration will take place in Spring 2027. The date will be confirmed in due course. 

You will be expected to commit to all of these dates and participate fully in the learning sessions alongside your peers. 

If, during the programme, you take an extended period of leave which impacts your ability to maintain engagement and complete the programme, Imperial College London may recommend an Interruption of Studies. For further details regarding the Interruption of Studies process, please contact the Imperial College London team at [email protected] 

Time commitments

We estimate that around 10 to 15 hours of study time/work is required outside of work, per week. The programme contents specify about 25 to 30 hours of learning in total. This includes the time spent applying your learning to your work within working hours.

It is not an insignificant time commitment for people with already demanding jobs and busy lives so important to consider this at the point of application and – ideally – build in protected learning time if able. 

Your overall workload consists of weekly online learning sessions and independent learning on the virtual learning environment and through work-based learning. While your actual time spent working through content may vary according to the modules you study, the following gives an indication of how much time you will need to allocate to different activities at each level of the programme. At Imperial College London, each European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) credit taken equates to an expected total study time of 25 hours. Therefore, the expected total study time is 187.5 hours per 7.5 ECTS module, for a total of 1500 for the Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) and 2250 for the Master of Science (MSc).

We expect that you will spend 15% to 20% of the time engaging with online content, while the remainder will be comprised of independent and group study, completion of assignments, and up to 50% of your time directly applying your learning into practice through multiple improvement projects in your own organisation.

Funding

Places are fully funded through NHS England's NHS Digital Academy. Funding also covers overnight stays for multi-day leadership forums, as arranged by Imperial College London. This represents significant central funding support per learner and we hope this is reflected in your commitment to the programme, and in the benefits realised directly in leading change in your organisation.

You will need to pay for travel and related subsistence expenses (for example, meals while travelling), as well as any additional accommodation either side of a leadership forum. You will need to consult your organisation's policy regarding this.

Support available from Imperial College London (ICL)

You will benefit from the support offered from Imperial College London throughout the programme.

Teaching Fellows

A team of Teaching Fellows support you throughout your academic journey. They will supervise work, provide advice on study skills, and assess work and progress. 

Personal tutors

Personal tutors support you in personal, pastoral and general academic development. You will have regular contact and establish a supportive and professional relationship. Personal Tutors maintain an overview of their tutees' academic progress, development and wellbeing. 

The Disability Advisory Service (DAS)

This service commits to providing you with the best support possible.

Understanding that each person's disability or impairment can affect them in different ways, the DAS team has a wealth of knowledge, experience, and resources to support learners who are disabled, have specific learning difficulties or have other short or long-term conditions.

You are encouraged to engage with the DAS team for screening if they feel they may have an undiagnosed difficulty and register for support. The team will then be able to provide the most relevant student focused resources and reasonable adjustments. 

If you have a disability or health condition, and feel you need support or reasonable adjustments throughout the application process, please contact us at [email protected].

Peer support groups

Alongside your fellow learners, you will form peer support groups as part of the programme. These are invaluable for boosting morale, networking and building communities of practice. These have had long-lasting positive impacts on alumni. 

Other support

Imperial College London also have information and communications technology (ICT) support, Student Wellbeing teams and staff to help you navigate the various procedures. 

Page last reviewed: 28 May 2025
Next review due: 28 May 2027