Prof. Dr. Alexander Würfel, Head of the Business Studies in Healthcare Management programme, and Katja Schuster from the International Office welcomed the international guests at the start of the event. Participants were given an insight into the culture of the region and the special features of the twin cities of Ulm and Neu-Ulm.
Teamwork, inspiration, and practical experience
As part of a project seminar, twenty students from the Health Informatics/eHealth program at FH JOANNEUM worked with twenty students from HNU on innovative concepts for gerontology. Students from the Faculty of GM's Business Studies in Healthcare Management, Digital Health, and Physician Assistant programmes participated in the projects. Working in interdisciplinary teams, the students jointly developed digital solutions designed to make life easier for older people. They presented their results in a poster presentation at the end of the week.
Gaming meets nursing
In keynote speeches, Taina Romppanen from KAMK and the student team “FLOAT” from HNU illustrated how gaming approaches can support training in nursing professions and therapeutic settings. The “FLOAT” application collects movement data via intuitive gestures, thereby supporting a start-up in the development of intelligent prostheses. In addition, the HNU degree program “Game Production and Management” opened its doors: Guests were given an exclusive insight into ongoing projects dealing with the development of games for people with acquired brain damage. Playful approaches are used here to combine day-structuring and therapeutic offerings in games.
A special highlight was the visit to Bethesda Hospital in Ulm. Here, the students experienced the everyday care of elderly people up close and learned how digital solutions enrich care and therapy.
Laboratory tours through the modern premises of the HNU Innovation Space and DocLab rounded off the program and showed guests that practice-oriented learning is a central component of studying at HNU.
Summary
Prof. Dr. Alexander Würfel sums it up: “The Winter School is an example of how valuable international cooperation is for the healthcare industry. Working together, the students developed innovative solutions within a very short time that can improve the lives of older people in the long term.” Simone Huber from FH JOANNEUM adds: “Through interdisciplinary and international collaboration, the students gained a broader perspective and were able to open up new horizons.”
