The enhancement of the digital learning environment and the utilization of versatile teaching materials and activities have greatly benefited healthcare teachers and researchers in the DigiCare project. These opportunities have empowered them to act as developers and innovators within their educational institutions and inspired their work in the various projects, both presently and in the future.
For healthcare students, the advent of digitalization and access to suitable equipment during their studies has opened doors to joint collaboration platforms, significantly easing the learning process regardless of specific learning materials, time, place, or economic and social factors.
Students have been enabled to employ active and student-centered methods in both physical and online learning environments, thereby bolstering their capacity-building, clinical competences and cultivating their critical thinking skills within the context of their own field of study and research. Most notably, this has provided them with invaluable opportunities to connect with international platforms, exchange experiences, and share expertise.
The DigiCare project primarily focused on acquiring up-to-date equipment, devices, and technology that facilitated learning progress and enabled project work, with a key goal of updating the educational ecosystem of our Asian partner institutions. Partner HEIs procured laptops, tablets, desktop computers, multimedia projectors, interactive whiteboards, internet control devices, cameras for documenting study exercises, lecture recording equipment, speakers for classrooms, printers, and copiers for developing teaching materials.
Implementation and Utilization of the Purchased Equipment
The partner HEIs have taken steps to create new study spaces where the acquired equipment is being utilized during pilot studies of courses and project participation. Moreover, they have improved existing study spaces by incorporating the new equipment.
In Nam Dinh University of Nursing (NDUN), the equipment items were installed in the Digital classroom on the fifth floor of NDUN’s simulation center in September 2021. They were used for training students on the DigiCare model and coaching practices during the first and second student pilots. The Digital training classroom will continue to be utilized for simulation teaching and learning in the future.
At Khulna City Medical College and Hospital (KCMCH), the equipment items were installed in the Digital classroom on the sixth floor in September 2021. They were primarily used to train nursing students on the DigiCare Model and during coaching practices in the pilot cycles. The digital training classroom also served as a valuable environment for simulation, teaching, and learning, benefiting both medical and nursing students.
In City Medical College and Hospital (CiMCH), the equipment was placed in medical college classrooms as teaching aids for various subjects. These teaching aids will continue to instruct the institution’s medical students in the future.
At Universal Medical College and Hospital (UMCH), all the equipment has been installed in the nursing and medical college during the DigiCare project. They served as pedagogical tools, enhancing students’ understanding of the project topics. The equipment will continue to be used for teaching nursing and medical students at UMCH. The smooth implementation of the equipment in training sessions and classrooms contributed to the project’s success and positively impacted student learning and skill development.
The comprehensive support provided by EU projects, allowing for development work in partner HEIs, including targeted assistance for necessary equipment, is of tremendous significance. The various activities during the project period has paved the way for appropriate and innovative utilization of devices in the future,and the growth of digital and pedagogical capacity and competence during the DigiCare project has been tangible.
