We must prepare Health’s students to utilise in-depth expertise, be open towards the whole world, and prepare them for radical changes to their subject even before they graduate. Vice-dean for Education Lise Wogensen Bach shares her visions for the degree programmes.

2020.02.20 | Simon Byrial Fischel

Even though she still feels ‘new’ in her job after fifty days, Health’s new vice-dean for education has some clear ideas on the subject of what the students should bring with them when they graduate from the faculty’s degree programmes. Photo: Simon Byrial Fischel

"The students should travel abroad more, they should get out of their comfort zones, and they should get out there and see other academic fields. They must be critical thinkers who have an ability for in-depth analytic thinking. Their education must be based on the latest research and take into account a rapidly evolving society. But on the other hand, we need to ensure that there is a good study environment in which students from different areas of specialisation can meet one another, and we need to ensure there’s a better gender balance among the students.” There is no mistaking her plain opinions and level of enthusiasm, as Health’s new vice-dean for education talks about her vision for the faculty’s degree programmes.

“I still feel ‘new’ in my job, though the area is not completely foreign to me, of course. Both my predecessor, Charlotte Ringsted, and many other committed employees have made a huge effort to revise the academic regulations for Health’s degree programmes. I intend to carry on their good work, initially with a period of time focusing on implementation. On top of this, I also have some areas which are particularly important to me and which I’d like to push forward,” says Lise Wogensen Bach.

Crossing personal, academic and national frontiers

One of these areas is encouraging curiosity and openness among the students. According to Lise Wogensen Bach, the desire to learn something new and to be academically challenged is actually part of what should help the young people through the transition from being a pupil to being a student, and from having homework to having a syllabus.

“Our students need to be curious and have the courage to challenge the perceptions which they brought with them to the university, but also the texts and theories which we present them with,” she says, before adding that: ”our students must learn for life and not just for the next exam.”

“The critical approach that we wish to see our students learn must be just as much internalised, and this often requires us to see how others do things. I will therefore focus on both international and interdisciplinary collaborations, so that more of our students have the opportunity to travel abroad and return with new perspectives on their own perceptions and habits. At the same time, this is also an effective way of building your network and laying the foundations for a career in the future," she says, also pointing out that Health's teaching staff also need to have improved opportunities for going abroad and finding inspiration, just as their foreign colleagues should be integrated more into the teaching activities at the faculty.

Up-to-date study programmes

Another area which is close to the vice-dean’s heart is ensuring that Health’s degree programmes continue to be in step with the development of the society into which the faculty sends its graduates. Ask yourself how a cancer diagnosis will be made in five years or what a hip prostheses will look like in ten.

"The reality is that we educate students for a world that’s going to change radically in the time from them beginning their degree programme until they graduate. Just giving the students generic problem-solving tools isn’t enough, so our task is therefore to predict which academic competences will be indispensable in ten years or however long it might be," says Lise Wogensen Bach.

Technologies such as Machine Learning have already started transforming the way we approach the use of health data and can potentially fundamentally alter the way in which we make diagnoses.

"Artificial intelligence, personalised medicine and the use of Big Data aren’t just visions in a crystal ball. They’re already a part of clinical reality in many places. So it’s extremely important that we ensure there’s an even better research integration in the teaching, so that the students encounter the newest knowledge, technologies and methods in the field,” explains the vice-dean.

A balanced intake

One other area in which Lise Wogensen Bach is particularly engaged is the question of how to ensure a better balance in the intake to Health’s degree programmes. In particular the gender balance on many of the faculty’s programmes, which, to put it mildly, is somewhat imbalanced. In the case of medicine, 68 per cent of the students are female, while among dental hygiene students that figure is 91 per cent.

"Of course, we can't decide which degree programmes young people apply to, but that doesn’t stop us from reflecting on how and to whom we present different degree programmes. Maybe we should look specifically at our recruitment material and consider whether we’re reaching the coming students in the right way.”

However, increased awareness of the gender balance does not only apply to student intake, because it is also during their degree programme that students typically begin thinking about a potential research career.

"It's common knowledge that we have an issue with the gender distribution among our researchers. Almost four out of five professors are men. If we’re going to succeed in creating a better balance, we must have more female role models for our students to look up to," says Lise Wogensen Bach and concludes:

"I would like to thank everyone for the very positive welcome I’ve received in my new function, and I look forward to an inspiring and exciting collaboration with the many good people at the faculty."

Contact

Vice-dean for Education Lise Wogensen Bach
The Dean’s Office, Health
Email: lwb@au.dk
Mobile: (+45) 2548 8522