The International Summer School – “Transversal skills for humanization of technology for health and social wellbeing” took place in Barcelona, Spain, between 4th and 8th, July 2022. It was a 5-day programme based on experimentation of innovative active methodologies (PBL, simulation, collaborative learning, role-play, gamification and virtual reality). Throughout the sessions, students experimented with the methodologies which helped them to improve their transversal, English and internationalization skills and expand their network of contacts. The training also included field visits to see and discuss with professionals the role of transversal skills in real workplaces and working environments.
The Summer School was organised in the context of the European project ITSHEC Integration of Transversal Skills into Health and Social care, Higher Education and the Curriculum – and involved a total of 24 students from different European Universities: University of Split (UNIST) – Croatia; Metropolia University of Applied Sciences (MUAS) – Finland; Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) and Escola Superior d’Infermeria del Mar (ESIMar Nursing School) – both from Spain.
ACTIVITIES
The students experimented with different Teaching-learning Methodology, such as Problem Based Learning (PBL), Role Playing, Simulation, Cooperative Learning, Virtual Reality (VR) and Gamification.
Problem Based Learning is a widespread methodology in higher education that uses realistic problems as a starting point for the learning process. The main benefits of using PBL are that it promotes deep learning and long-term knowledge acquisition. It is also an excellent context for developing transversal skills.
Roleplaying is an experiential teaching-learning strategy that encourages student participation by proposing different cases and scenarios in which the students must develop specific roles (different from their own).
Simulation is an academic methodology which allows students to train their performance in a safe and highly realistic context. It is developed along 3 essential phases: Prebriefing, Case, and Debriefing. Prebriefing phase’s objective is to create an emotional-safe space. Case’s phase is that in which the simulated scene takes place and comprises many elements like mannequins, standardised patients and others. Debriefing phase is the space for reflective and shared learning. In conclusion, Simulation allows to promote and assess learning.
Cooperative learning is a pedagogical practice that involves students working together to achieve goals that would otherwise not be performed or completed working alone. It is a recognized way to promote learning in different kinds of subject areas and develop transversal skills.
Virtual Reality environments allow students to be immersed in a highly realistic, vivential first-person learning experience that only requires a VR headset. As a result, VR environments are emerging as a fundamental learning methodology for distance and life-long education.
Gamification uses game elements outside the context of a game to improve and enhance students’ learning outcomes. This methodology influences students’ motivation levels, increasing their participation in activities and the acquisition and integration of learning outcomes.
PBL Presentations
As an important part of Summer School, students shared the work done during the PBL sessions: the questions that have arisen from the problem and how the group has worked to answer them, and what conclusions they have reached. They talked about how technology affects health and social wellbeing in terms as Telemedicine or Cybercondriach. They concluded that transversal skills are crucial in health and social wellbeing, and that it is very important to follow guidelines when using technology in this context. They also affirm that interdisciplinary communication is useful because communication between social workers, nurses and doctors allow interchanging opinions and different points of view, which is a good point for all professionals.
PRBB visit
The Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) is an inspiring environment for life sciences and biomedical research. This large scientific hub brings together several research centers and a critical mass of researchers in various fields. Its international community of residents can access a range of cutting-edge scientific and technical services, all under one roof, and it is also connected to Hospital del Mar, a university hospital. The PRBB has been committed to its scientific community since 2006, when it was inaugurated by its promoters the Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona City Council and Pompeu Fabra University (UPF).
PRBB researchers explained to the summer school participants, PRBB activities and history, and we had the opportunity to visit PRBB building and their facilities.
Documents:
- ITSHEC Summer Summer School Program
- ITSHEC Summer Shool Activities Program
- ITSHEC Summer School Syllabus
The ITSHEC project aims to improve the training of healthcare and social services professionals in transversal skills throughout the undergraduate and postgraduate training journey. ITSHEC is co-funded by the Erasmus+ project of the European Union.
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Contact us: itshec@upf.edu