Rate My Professor Scott Wilkes

Professor Scott Wilkes is the inaugural Dean of the New Zealand Graduate School of Medicine at the University of Waikato. An experienced academic leader and clinician, he previously served as founding Head of School and Professor of General Practice and Primary Care at the University of Sunderland, where he led the establishment of a primary care-focused medical school in 2019 designed to widen access to medical training and address regional imbalances in medical education places across England.

Professor Wilkes brings more than 30 years of experience as a general practitioner and more than 20 years as a National Health Service researcher in the United Kingdom. His work at Sunderland emphasised widening participation in medical education, resulting in a pioneer student cohort achieving a 99% pass rate at first sit in the national applied knowledge test and medical licensing examination, along with the school ranking first among UK medical schools in the National Student Survey for academic tutor support. He holds the qualifications FRCGP and PhD and will draw on this expertise to support the development of the New Zealand Graduate School of Medicine, which is scheduled to open in 2028 with a focus on strengthening primary care workforce capacity and broadening access to medical training to better serve communities across the country.