Care and IT; two sectors that may feel far apart, but in practice can actually strengthen each other. Strengthening that connection is exactly what the new international Care about IT project focuses on. The project was officially launched in June 2023 with the goal of bringing the two sectors closer together, both in education and in practice, and to learn with and from each other in the process. Educational institutions, IT companies and healthcare institutions from the Netherlands, Italy, Estonia and Finland are participating in the EU project.
The start
The foundation for the international 'Care about IT' project was laid in regional projects such as the Workshop for Digital Craftsmanship and the Technology & Care Academies in Groningen and Drenthe. These projects are aimed at improving the quality of care through the use of technology.
Minke Kloppenburg, project leader of 'Care about IT' on behalf of Noorderpoort: "We continue to learn in and with the region and we also pull it across national borders. For example, Finland is very strong pedagogically and didactically, Estonia has already made great strides when it comes to digitalization in healthcare, and Italy has strong ties with employers and employees and the labor market. During the project, by bringing these qualities together, we hope to take the knowledge and application of healthcare technology in education and practice a step further."
The challenges
Minke Kloppenburg continues: "But there are also some major challenges behind it. Everyone knows the shortages in healthcare. In addition, in the care sector there is sometimes still resistance to IT and digitization, because it would diminish the human side of care. We therefore consider it important that both sectors learn from each other in this project, so that the IT sector also includes ‘the humanity’ of healthcare in the development of new healthcare technology. In this way we hope that in the future, through the correct application of healthcare technology, working in healthcare will be experienced as less strenuous and thus will in fact provide more hands at the bedside.”
The plans
On the 27nd and 28th of September, the kick-off with the international partners will take place in Groningen, hosted by Noorderpoort.
Various hackathons will be organized in education during the course of the project. Real-life care technology issues, for example put forward by regional partners such as Netwerk ZON or the TZAs, are central during these hackathons.
The project are also working toward so-called "microcredentials" in the field of healthcare technology. These are short educational programs with European recognition that guarantee a certain level of knowledge and skills that can also be used in retraining and in-service training.
The international project lasts four years. The aim is to then have an even better connection to the region, to the labor market and to the networks in each of the four EU regions.
