Aarhus University Seal / Aarhus Universitets segl

Get a look into the future of Health’s study programmes

Big data, algorithms and artificial intelligence have already begun to provide new opportunities in the healthcare system, and all study programmes will soon need to be in position to prepare the students for this brave new world. At Health's Education Fair on 13 December, experts from outside the faculty will give us an insight into the situation.

2019.11.12 | Mette Louise Ohana

Digitisation has impacted the healthcare system, and it is a development which the health science degree programmes must therefore respond to. Photo: Lars Kruse, Aarhus University.

Today, machines can categorise mammography images and identify which women should be examined more closely for breast cancer. A scanner can photograph an entire body and assess the risk of developing melanoma. The impact of digitisation on the healthcare system is steadily increasing, so that digital competences and technological literacy will therefore soon be introduced to the curriculum on all university degree programmes, regardless of profession.

Last spring the Ministry of Higher Education and Science earmarked DKK 45 million to upgrade the competences of lecturers on the higher education degree programmes so that they could in turn help develop the students' digital competences.

But what does digital thinking really mean? How can digitisation impact the healthcare system in the future? And how should we prepare students who will end up working as medical doctors, dentists or public health science graduates for these technological developments?

Utilising big data and artificial intelligence in Denmark

Professor of Health Economics Jakob Kjellberg from VIVE - the Danish Center for Social Science Research, has 15 years of experience in carrying out evaluations of the healthcare system. He will provide an insight into how big data is being used to investigate the effects of initiatives in the healthcare system.

Professor Stephen Alstrup from the Department of Computer Science at the University of Copenhagen will give us a look into the future. He works with artificial intelligence and machine learning, and is co-author of a publication from McKinsey and the Innovation Fund Denmark outlining the possibilities and potential of using artificial intelligence in Denmark.

Study programmes adjusted for the future

As recently as two years ago, Health considered the future situation by formulating visions of how our study programmes should look if our graduates' competences are also to be useful in thirty years. What results did we arrive at? The six directors of studies will talk about this. They are all well on the way to drawing up new academic regulations for the degree programmes.

The Education Fair concludes with a look at the future gender balance of Health’s study programmes, which today have a majority of women. For a number of years, Health has used a quota 2 entry test for the medical degree programme. Has this led to more men on the degree programme? Educational Consultant Julie Nøjsen Fallesen from HE Studies Administration has analysed the data and she has the answer. Further, what does the gender balance mean for the study environment and later on for the labour market?

Practical information

See the programme (in Danish) and register for (in Danish) the Education Fair. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Date: Friday 13 December 2019
Time: 10:00 - 15:00
Venue: Preben Hornung Stuen, Building 1422, Frederik Nielsens Vej 2, Aarhus University – see the location on a map

The deadline for registration is 6 December.

Contact

Vice-dean for Education Charlotte Ringsted
Aarhus University, Health
Mobile: (+45) 9350 8222
Email: charlotte.ringsted@au.dk

Adviser Hanne Johansen
Aarhus University, Health
Mobile: (+45) 6126 9808
Email: hannejohansen@au.dk

Education, Administration (Academic), Academic staff, Health, Health, Technical / administrative staff