Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Since this month Simone Langeveld is the new chairman of YOUNG Medical Delta. She succeeds Sebastian van der Voort, departing chairman (see below). YOUNG Medical Delta brings together students and young professionals who are involved in health & technology and offers them the opportunity to explore the field from a broad perspective. They do this, among other things, by organizing events.
Simone hopes to contribute in her own way in the coming year. "In a perfect situation next year there will be good playbooks, we will have gained sufficient experience and YOUNG Medical Delta is a name people know."
Medical Delta focuses on collaboration and interdisciplinary projects. How does the youngest generation of researchers and students view this?
You see that it is becoming increasingly normal for science and applied science from different disciplines to work together and with the healthcare sector. For instance the study clinical technology. The students spend about half their time in college, but the other half in a hospital. In general, I think we find it a bit easier to bridge the strict divisions. That may also have to do with the possibility to find everything that happens in other disciplines online, as well as the people that are working on it. Moreover, you can easily approach each other, even via social media.
Approaching is one thing. Are younger researchers actually coming together?
This month we had a meeting involving three study associations from Leiden, Delft and Rotterdam. We had a philosophical discussion about the usefulness of life-prolonging technology. Then it is very nice to see how people from all different angles start talking to each other.
We still miss a group; the applied sciences students. That is why we are very active in expanding our network at universities of applied sciences in the Zuid-Holland region. For example, if you have good contacts with the lectors of these universities, they can refer to us. An email or yet another newsletter is not sparkling interest very quickly, but by meeting each other personally, it comes to life. And I expect that the Medical Delta Living Labs can play an important role in this. The projects that are running there are very concrete, which will probably appeal to applied sciences students.
You will soon be presenting Thesis awards. What is the purpose?
Students can present their thesis on stage on 13 March. This gives them the opportunity to show what they are doing. Other students see what happens outside of their own research area. Also it gives students who are not yet ready in their studies an idea of what is possible. There is so much to do and there are so many projects that you would not have known about without a meeting like that. Afterwards there is of course a networking drink. The contacts you make there are very important.
The Thesis awards are the first own event for the current board. It's all pretty exciting. We are busy promoting and come across everything you don't think of beforehand. We will include that in the plans for the coming years. If I make room for the new chairman in two years' time, I hope that the processes are going well.
What does such an event yield?
Progress. The Medical Delta programs also show that. In all those projects you see that collaboration takes you further contrary to staying within your own field. Take for example the use of ultrasound in cardiology or non-invasive techniques that are less invasive for the patient and cost less. Ttechnology and care both progress, in a way that would otherwise not have taken place.
At Medical Delta, it is also about focus on applicability. In collaboration with the healthcare sector or a company, you research or develop something that can be used. And of course fundamental research remains important. This is also the main focus within my PhD project. But that is still very far away from the clinic and four years is too tight to bridge such a large gap. In addition, more consultation is needed to get a good picture of the problems that people face in practice. That gives your research direction. This is also one of the reasons why we want closer ties with applied sciences and with end users.
The Healthcare Innovation Challenge takes place in May. What does that mean?
For the Healthcare Innovation Challenge we ask healthcare institutions and companies to introduce a case. Students will be divided in groups and get a weekend to come up with a solution. The winner will have the opportunity to actually work out that idea. Last year it was a teddy bear that can be used in geriatrics. A care institution was struggling with a shortage of staff and had too little opportunity to keep dementia residents busy. The winning students came up with a bear who regularly asks the owner if he or she wants to go for a walk. A GPS tracker ensures that they do not go too far.
We are now approaching companies and organizations to bring us a case. There are already companies that have approached us to participate. Care professionals are encountering problems that we never imagined.
We also hope for cases in the field of mental health and are actively looking for them. Young people in particular increasingly suffer from psychological complaints such as burnout or depression. We would like to be able to contribute to finding solutions for this. ”
YOUNG Medical Delta is looking for new board members and for interesting cases. For questions and/or registration, mail: young@medicaldelta.nl
Chairman Sebastian van der Voort sees cooperation intensifying
After being chairman for a year and a year on the board, Sebastian van der Voort says goodbye to YOUNG Medical Delta. In the coming months, he will focus entirely on completing his PhD research. As chairman, he focused primarily on creating a breeding ground for new activities. When Van der Voort started as a board member, YOUNG Medical Delta focused primarily on finding connections with existing events. This year and subsequent years, following the strategy of Medical Delta for 2019-2023, YOUNG Medical Delta focuses more on own initiatives such as the Thesis awards and the Healthcare Innovation Challenge (formerly the hackathon).
"We have challenged ourselves more and redefined what we want to stand for," says Van der Voort about his period as chairman. As a board member, he was responsible, among other things, for setting up the annual hackathon for students. With this hackathon he explored how a bridge could be built to universities of applied sciences. "That worked out well, starting a new chapter for YOUNG Medical Delta."
During his studies, Van der Voort saw the collaboration between technicians and doctors change. "Looking back, I see that this collaboration has become increasingly natural and barriers between disciplines are disappearing." Van der Voort mentions the Clinical Technology course as an example. “At the start of my studies I noticed that there were barriers between the academic institutions, which was one of the reasons for me to become a board member. In the Clinical Technology degree program, the institutions involved, even with completely different backgrounds, now know each other well. Healthcare and technology cannot do without each other "
