Thesis Lab 'Sustainable Hospitals' started: Master students research sustainability opportunities for hospitals

How can we deliver babies as sustainably as possible in a hospital? What is the environmental impact of a hospital storing health data, and what are more sustainable alternatives? What is the most optimal and sustainable use of PET/CT examinations? How can we reduce medicine waste in the operating room and minimize the harmful environmental impact of drugs?

Starting this week, eleven Master students are seeking answers to these and other research questions related to sustainability of hospitals. They are doing so within the interdisciplinary Thesis Lab 'Sustainable Hospitals' of Medical Delta and LDE Centre for Sustainability, which had its kick-off last Wednesday. The Thesis Labs are sanctuaries for interdisciplinary learning and research based on real, diverse practical questions formulated in advance by participating institutions and organizations.

New leads and concrete solutions

In the coming months, Master students from Leiden University, LUMC, TU Delft, Erasmus MC and Erasmus University Rotterdam will start working with external partners and fellow students from other programmes. They will each write a thesis, benefiting from each other's perspectives and experiences. The Master students look for answers to research questions submitted by hospitals. From February to July, the students conduct research, guided by various practitioners such as healthcare professionals and technology innovators.

The master theses that are delivered, provide new leads and sometimes concrete solutions to make healthcare more sustainable. These are presented and made publicly available at a roundtable meeting, thus making a concrete contribution to making healthcare more sustainable.

More information, overview of research topics and results last year

More information about Interdisciplinary Thesis Lab Sustainable Hospitals and an overview of the research topics can be found here.

More information about Medical Delta's research on making healthcare sustainable can be found here.

Curious about last year's results? Click on this link for a detailed report or watch the special broadcast on this topic.