Jasper Faber new chairman of Young Medical Delta

Jasper Faber, PhD student at TU Delft and researcher in the Medical Delta program Medical Delta eHealth & self-management for a healthy society, is the new chairman of Young Medical Delta since this month. He succeeds outgoing chairman Simone Langeveld, who will concentrate on the final phase of her PhD.

Faber was already a board member of Young Medical Delta and has therefore for some time already been active for the organization that connects students in Medical Delta with each other. We spoke to him about his chairmanship and Young Medical Delta's plans for the coming year.

You have been a board member of Young Medical Delta since September. What are your findings so far?

"That Young Medical Delta is a great starting point for anyone with a passion for medical technology. Every student or young professional, including myself, who shares this passion, will sooner or later come into contact with Young Medical Delta. From my board members to the various partners and students who approach us: they all see the importance and the potential of collaboration between healthcare professionals and technology developers."

Why did you want to become a board member and now chairman?

"I started as a PhD candidate last September. The great thing about a PhD is that you can immerse yourself in a subject that interests you. The danger is that you occasionally forget to look around, what else is happening the professional field. When I heard that Young Medical Delta was looking for new board members, I saw a great opportunity to broaden my horizon. I see the role of chair as a great challenge. Previously I was actually always the 'designer in the background’ within a board. Fortunately Simone has trained me well and I have passionate board members."

As a PhD student you conduct research in a scientific program of Medical Delta. Can you tell us more about that?

"Together with another PhD student from Leiden, I am developing a tool within my research for professionals to better match e-Health with user needs. Healthcare is becoming increasingly digitalized and although this can bring many benefits, it remains a major challenge to ensure that digital applications seamlessly connect to the needs of the user and the context in healthcare. This can only be achieved by involving all stakeholders in the development process from the start. In the consortium within Medical Delta eHealth & self-management for a healthy society, we often work together with researchers, doctors and designers from various knowledge institutes. In addition, people from the field and the end users also play a major role. Only through this interdisciplinary collaboration, we can ensure that the end result has an impact that benefits everyone."

Why do you think Young Medical Delta is important to students? And for Medical Delta as a whole?

"After high school I had to make the difficult choice whether to study Medicine or to study Industrial Design. Eventually it became Industrial Design, but since my second year I have really been busy devising innovative solutions for healthcare. I graduated as a designer with Medisign as a specialization. It shows how thin the division is between medical and technical courses. With the advance of the Clinical Technology course, high school students no longer have to face the same difficult choice I had to make. I see Young Medical Delta as an excellent platform to facilitate this new trend. Not only for students of Medisign and Clinical Technology, but also to connect students of Biomechanical Design and Medicine, for example. I see it as a common, overarching goal that we can meet, learn from each other and cooperate."

The year 2021 has just begun, what would you like to achieve this year?

“In the past months I watched how we have organized various inspiring events such as the Thesis Awards and the Young Medical Delta symposium. I was impressed, especially knowing that this is the first time we have undertaken this, and on top of that during the difficulties of the pandemic. As chairman, I hope to continue these events and continue their growth.

In addition, it is important that the foundations of Young Medical Delta, our partners, (student associations, ed.) remain involved. This week we meet with our partner boards to consider future partnerships. This will certainly lead into many great initiatives."