#ErasmusDays 2020 at UM FHS
Researchers at the University of Maribor Faculty of Health Sciences (UM FHS) have managed to increase the number of research projects in which our faculty is involved in through quality research work. Namely, research activity represents an important link between practice and education, where we pay special attention to the involvement of students in research work in Slovenia and internationally.
With its extensive partner network of internationally recognized institutions in the field of nursing UM FHS had applied for numerous project proposals as a partner and in 2019 successfully obtained five ERASMUS + projects under Key Action 2 and 3 (Support for Policy Reform, Strategic Partnerships in Higher Education) European Union Erasmus+ program. Thus, at the time of confirmation, we had as many as eight active Erasmus+ projects at the faculty. Today, we are actively implementing six of them and we want to present them more actively as part of the promotion for #ErasmusDays2020.
The successfully obtained projects of UM FHS researchers prove the research excellence of our higher education teachers and associates and the unwavering effort in cooperation with internationally recognized colleagues from related institutions across Europe and beyond. We expect that the results of the projects will have a high applicative value for the profession of nursing and health sciences in Slovenia and abroad.
»Student Stress Training e-Mobile Management – SSTeMM«
As part of the Student Stress Training e-Mobile Management (SSTeMM) project, coordinated by Prof John Wells of the Waterford Institute for Technology (WIT) in Ireland, researchers will develop a digital mobile platform that will provide support for stress management to nursing students in a clinical setting. Numerous studies show that young people are increasingly exposed to stress. The population of nurses is also considered to be a particularly endangered occupational group, and the consequences are also reflected in the early departure from the profession. SSTeMM will support nursing students in developing personal endurance to improve their work performance and equip them with the knowledge, skills, and competencies to manage stress during and after graduation. At UM FHS the project team is led by Assist Prof Dominika Vrbnjak and Prof Majda Pajnkihar.
Partners: Waterford Institute of Technology, Ireland, University of Maribor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Slovenia, Euro Care Healthcare Ltd, Ireland, School of Health Sciences TecnoCampus, Spain, IBK-Management Solutions GmbH, Germany
Project Improving healthcare students’ competences for behaviour change to effectively support self-care in chronic diseases – Train4Health is being coordinated by Prof Mara Guerreiro from Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Lisboa, Portugal. The aim of the project is to improve the competencies of nursing students to change behavior and effectively support the self-care of chronic patients with an innovative educational package. However, the specific objectives of the project include the harmonization of the European multidisciplinary framework of competences on behavior change in chronic diseases and the definition of curricula based on learning outcomes. The project will also develop simulation software for behavior change training, which will be integrated into the wider e-learning environment. The project at UM FHS is led by Assoc Prof Gregor Štiglic.
Partners: ESEL - Escola Superior de Enfermagem de Lisboa (Higher School of Nursing of Lisbon), Portugal, The European Students' union, Belgium, Instituto Politecnico de Santarem (Polytechnic Institute of Santarém), Portugal, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Ireland, Stichting Hoger Onderwijs Nederland (Inholland University of Applied Sciences), Netherlands, Universidade de Lisboa (University of Lisbon), Portugal, University of Maribor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Slovenia
Project Digital Toolbox for Innovation in Nursing Education – I-BOX is coordinated by Prof Carolina Chabreras in Prof Esther Cabrera School of Health Sciences TecnoCampus, SpainThe project team at UM FHS is led by Assoc Prof Gregor Štiglic. New programs and ways of learning are needed to ensure that nursing education is offered and delivered in the most cost-effective and time-efficient manner possible. These aspects need to be integrated into programs by providing educational technologies such as e-learning, distance learning, virtual reality and simulation. As part of the project, researchers will work to integrate new pedagogical approaches into nursing study programs by providing next-generation educational technologies. Aim of the project is to develop free access audio-visual materials where students, teachers and health professionals will be able to initiate various discussions at the international level. We hope the tool will help answer the questions and provide new perspectives on understanding the questions, offer best practice recommendations, and help those involved to gain and upgrade their expertise in a practical way.
Partners: Fundacio Tecnocampus Mataromaresme (TecnoCampus), Spain, University of Maribor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Slovenia, UMIT- Private Universitat Fuer Gesundheitswissenschaften, Medizinischeinformatik und Technik GMbH (University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology), Austria, Turun Ammattikorkeakouluoy (Turku University of Applied Sciences), Finland, The State Education Institution of Higher Professional Training, The First Sechenov Moscow State Medical University under Ministry of Health of The Russian Federation, Russia
As part of the project Person-centredness in Healthcare Curricula - PCCurric, researchers are preparing an international education curriculum that will include the principles of a person-centred approach. The resulting curriculum will be prepared on the basis of a set of topics / contents that support curricula in health care, by determining learning outcomes and occupational characteristics that meet the needs of health education stakeholders and by designing innovative strategies for curriculum assessment. It is the transnational approach to the project that will help to understand the concept of the principles of a person-centred approach and thus increase the possibility that the principles on which the person-centred approach is based will be implemented in practice. The project coordinator is prof. Brendan McCormack of Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, UK. At UM FHS the project is led by Assist Prof Mateja Lorber.
Partners: Queen Margaret University, United Kingdom, University of Maribor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Slovenia, Universitetet I Sorostnorge (University of South-Eastern Norway), Norway, University College Dublin, National University of Ireland, Ireland, University of Ulster, United Kingdom, Stichting Fontys (Fontys University of Applied Sciences), Netherlands
The project has developed mainly due to the emergence of an increasing number of vulnerable migrant students seeking access to higher education and educational institutions worldwide. The project aims to develop a set of technological rather than technological tools or resources for foreign migrant students to improve their experience and achievements during their studies. The project is implementing activities to achieve three fundamental outcomes of the project: a handbook for improving digital literacy and improving language skills in the country where foreign migrant students study, a web centre - a platform with interactive content to facilitating integration with tools for migrant students and a mobile web application centres. The project is mainly based on experts who have experience in integrating vulnerable groups of migrant students in different environments. At UM FZV, the project is run by a Sr Lect Barbara Donik and the project coordinator are Dr Tracy McClelland and Dr Mel Cooper from the University of Bradford in the UK.
Partners: University of Bradford, United Kingdom, Savonia University of Applied Sciences, Finland, University of Maribor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Slovenia, University Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain, University College Cork, Ireland
Project Measuring and Comparing Achievements of Learning Outcomes in Higher Education Phase 2 – calohE2 represents the continuance of the project Measuring and Comparing Achievements of Learning Outcomes in Higher Education in Europe (CALOHEE). Leading partners are the University of Groningen, the Netherlands and the University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain. At UM FHS the project is led by Prof Majda Pajnkihar and Assist Prof Dominika Vrbnjak. The main objective of the project is to increase the use of available qualifications frameworks, assessment frameworks and procedures, and available reference brochures for individual areas.
Partners: Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (University of Groningen), Netherlands, Universidad de Deusto (University of Deusto), Spain, University of Maribor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Slovenia, and many more European higher education institutions