The project aims to develop a collaborative learning platform to support their final graduate dissertation, in which they will develop solutions to current health challenges.
Healthcare students today find themselves studying their profession in globalised and constantly evolving societies. Climate change, digitalisation, the embracing of increasingly diverse populations and the increased pressures of working within the healthcare system are all factors that students must be aware of before transitioning into the work place.
Addressing broad societal health issues
With this in mind, the European Health Care Final Dissertation (EHECADI) Project was launched this year to enable healthcare students from different disciplines to address broad societal health issues such as healthcare equity, epidemic preparedness, underinvestment in healthcare workers and health needs of migrant populations within their studies.
Funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union, the project brings together a number of European Universities, including South East Technological University (SETU,) to co-develop a digital, international, and collaborative learning platform known as the Knowledge Hub. The resources of the learning platform will be used by students and lecturers to support the completion of their Final Graduate Dissertation (IFGD), a research-oriented project in which students can come closer to finding solutions to current health challenges.
The Knowledge Hub
Targeted at those who are studying nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and nutrition and dietetics, the resources of the Knowledge Hub will be developed in collaboration with students. Five SETU students from the Department of Nursing and Health Care, School of Health Sciences, in Waterford will actively participate in the project. Aoife Treacy, Niamh Furlong, Aoife Corr, Roisin Meaney and Tara Kenny will work closely with professors, researchers, healthcare providers and other students from across Europe to co-design the Knowledge Hub and its resources.
The Knowledge Hub, which will be developed by Walton Institute at SETU, will host the following:
- A Virtual Community of Practice: this virtual forum will enable students and academia to interact with and learn from others who are studying the same discipline across Europe.
- A digital open course: this modular course, available for students, will promote the acquisition of research, digital and transversal skills during their studies.
- Guidelines to support students, teachers, and institutions to compete the IFGD.
Workshops in Finland
As part of their participation in the project the students will travel to Finland in March 2023, to meet with students from other universities who are taking part in the project and to contribute to several platform and course development workshops.
Further information on the project and the partnership can be found on the Erasmus+ platform here