Thursday, April 10, 2025
A year ago, the first Medical Delta lecturers were appointed: AnneLoes van Staa from Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences and Erasmus University Rotterdam, and Sanne de Vries from The Hague University of Applied Sciences and LUMC. What exactly do Medical Delta lecturers do, and what have they achieved in the past year?
"Medical Delta professors and lecturers bridge the gap between research, education, and practice in healthcare," explains Medical Delta director David de Glint. "This is in the DNA of the lecturers. The research at universities of applied sciences is primarily practice-oriented. This research is of a high level, but not everyone knows that."
"An honorary title," says Van Staa. "Implementation is often thought of as a straight chain: from Research & Development of a product or intervention, to testing, and then to practice for application. That often fails. We work in a more cyclical way and involve users in innovations and changes in practice. So, we're not just there for the last piece: we're there for the application in practice."
"Co-creation with the target group and intermediate users is second nature to us," adds De Vries. "From the start of developing an innovation to its implementation, we work together to determine where and how a product or service can be best implemented. We incorporate that earlier in the process at universities of applied sciences."
What do Medical Delta lecturers do differently from 'regular' lecturers?
"We represent Medical Delta, also towards the universities of applied sciences and our colleagues," explains Van Staa. "On the other hand, we represent the universities of applied sciences within Medical Delta. We are ambassadors in two directions. There is more connection between universities and universities of applied sciences than there was five years ago, but for many, we are still an unknown partner. These processes take time."
De Vries: "We want to open the eyes of universities to collaboration with vocational education (mbo), with which we, as universities of applied sciences, already collaborate more. For some fields, mbo is really unknown." Van Staa: "For technicians at a university, it’s more common to collaborate with universities of applied sciences and sometimes with mbo. But for doctors, for example, it’s different. Medical professionals often don’t know what higher vocational education (hbo) or mbo nursing programs look like. There’s some work to be done in that area."
De Vries: "We also put issues on the agenda. Themes like vitality, prevention, and sports and exercise in relation to health are brought in from the universities of applied sciences. Slowly, we’re seeing these themes appear in the research programs and curriculum at universities as well. In higher vocational education, we already have a real tradition in this area."
In 2025 zijn ook Suzan van der Pas en Robbert Gobbens benoemd tot Medical Delta lector.
What are your key successes?
Van Staa: "I consider the collaboration between the universities of applied sciences to be the greatest success of Medical Delta. Not even the approach to universities, but especially the collaboration between universities of applied sciences. This has become the standard for us. Not everywhere and always, but often. The foundation for this was laid by Vitale Delta, a consortium of four Zuid-Holland universities of applied sciences with the goal of enhancing vitality and physical, mental, and social health for all ages. Vitale Delta is now not only a SIA Sprong program but also a scientific program of Medical Delta."
De Vries: "Through Vitale Delta and Medical Delta, we’ve learned to collaborate outside of your immediate field. Within the four universities of applied sciences, there aren't many other movement or lifestyle lecturers. You might think there are no natural collaborators, but by working with lecturers in areas like self-management or healthcare technology, we created very interesting cross-connections. We’re increasingly looking for ways to complement each other."
Van Staa: "Yes, that’s true. In this collaboration, we can also reach more students. These types of collaborations increase our impact, even within the universities of applied sciences themselves. We can make many more connections than just between healthcare and welfare. Think of areas like logistics, architecture, art, and technology."
The Franciscus Hospital in Rotterdam approached us with the request to collaborate on nursing research. We have now established a joint lectureship. That wouldn't have happened a few years ago.
De Vries: "I’m proud that we’ve managed to connect practice-oriented research well with education. For example, the BIBOZ-project. The programs in physiotherapy, applied psychology, nutrition and dietetics, communication, and communication and multimedia design from Leiden University of Applied Sciences, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, and The Hague University of Applied Sciences are working together around the theme of staying active after physiotherapy treatment."
Van Staa: "Education has also become much more connected to societal issues than before. We are training the professionals of the future. As lecturerships, we’ve also become a real partner for societal challenges. The Franciscus Hospital in Rotterdam approached us with the request to collaborate on nursing research. We have now established a joint professorship. That wouldn’t have happened a few years ago."
De Glint: "A lot is happening in collaboration within and between universities of applied sciences. Healthy Society is also an example of successful cooperation between universities of applied sciences and research universities. For example, Medical Delta is funding the research program ‘Community-Up Plant-based Innovations for Healthy Diets and New Business Opportunities’ (CUPIDO), led by The Hague University of Applied Sciences, in collaboration with LUMC Health Campus and Greenport West-Holland. Young people come up with ideas themselves, for example, through challenges, to make their diet healthier and more plant-based."
De Vries adds: "The Medical Delta program CUPIDO builds on the Food Boost Challenge, a participatory approach that originated from a Medical Delta living lab. In that lab, students, teachers, researchers, NGOs, and companies work together in an experimental environment to solve a problem. CUPIDO now also has a PhD track and is connected to a university."
What challenges do you face as Medical Delta lecturers? What is not going as well?
Van Staa: "Medical Delta lecturers have a dual appointment, at a university of applied sciences and at a university, with the goal of facilitating and strengthening collaboration. This works better for some than for others. In addition to more connection between the research activities of a university of applied sciences and a university, I would also like to see dual appointments between universities of applied sciences."
De Glint: "The strategic embedding of this form of collaboration is indeed an area of focus."
Significant budget cuts have been announced for higher education, and in 2026, municipalities will face significant reductions from the government. What does this mean for the future of Medical Delta and the Medical Delta lecturers?
Van Staa: "In times of budget cuts, the reflex at universities of applied sciences is often to not renew temporary contracts and to implement a hiring freeze. I find that difficult. And continuing Vitale Delta is not a given either."
De Vries: "Budget cuts also lead to reflection and opportunities. It increases the need to collaborate on reducing health disparities in the region, but also on addressing the rising labor shortages in healthcare. It cannot be the case that we do nothing about it because of the budget cuts. We can think about technological solutions, but also offer more training places, further education, or create new professions. We need to look for where there is room, at other entry points, and with other partners."
De Glint: "The funding for Medical Delta is secured for five years, until 2028, but the announced budget cuts are of course dramatic for the involved institutions, research, and educational offerings. If the primary partners, the knowledge institutions, say they need to cut budgets after 2028 and part of the Medical Delta funding is cut from that point on, then we will face a challenge leading up to the new programming round. I prefer to reason from the perspective of 'who do we want to collaborate with and why?' and then seek funding accordingly. The programs and living labs we funded in the 2019-2024 period have found a lot of extra external funding during that time. The formula works. New opportunities will also arise."
In 2025 zijn ook Suzan van der Pas en Robbert Gobbens benoemd tot Medical Delta lector.
Read more about Sanne de Vries' Medical Delta professorship and watch her introduction video below:
Read more about AnneLoes van Staa's Medical Delta professorship and watch her introduction video below:
Dr. AnneLoes van Staa is a professor in Transitions in Healthcare at Hogeschool Rotterdam. Additionally, she holds a position at Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management (ESHPM). In 2019, she was awarded the Deltapremie for her excellence in connecting practice-based research, education, and practice.
Dr. Sanne de Vries is a professor in Healthy Lifestyle in a Stimulating Environment at The Hague University of Applied Sciences. She is also an Associate Professor at LUMC Health Campus, Department of Public Health & Primary Care, and Director of the Centre of Expertise Health Innovation at The Hague University of Applied Sciences.
Drs. David de Glint is the Managing Director of Medical Delta.
Text: Dorine van Namen; Photo's: Guido Benschop; Frank de Roo.
