TheUniversity of Twente, SaxionUniversityofAppliedSciences, ROCofTwente(vocationaleducation), centre of expertise TechYourFuture and the H2Hub Twente, in which various regional hydrogen interested corporations are involved, work together to shape a learning community (LC) for the development of innovative hydrogen technology. The cooperation between company employees, researchers and students provides a means to jointly work on solutions for real-life problems within the energy transition. This involves a cross-chain collaboration of technical programs, professorships and (field) experts, supported by human capital specialists. In the LC, a decentralized hydrogen production unit with storage of green hydrogen is designed and built. The main question for this research is: how can the design and construction process of an alkaline electrolyzer be arranged in a challenge based LC in which students, company employees (specialists) and researchers from the three educational institutions can learn, innovate, build-up knowledge and benefit? In this project the concept of a LC is developed and implemented in collaboration with companies and knowledge institutions at different levels. The concrete steps are described below: 1. Joint session between Human Resource and Development (HRD) specialists and engineers/researchers to explore the important factors for a LC. The results of this session will be incorporated into a blueprint for the LC by the human capital specialists. 2. The project is carried out according to the agreements of the blueprint. The blueprint is continuously updated based on the periodic reflections and observed points for improvement. 3. Impact interviews and periodic reflection review the proceeding of the LC in this engineering process. The first impact interview reveals that the concept of the LC is very beneficial for companies. It increases overall knowledge on hydrogen systems, promotes cooperation and connection with other companies and aids to their market proposition as well. Students get the opportunity to work in close contact with multiple company professionals and build up a network of their own. Also the cooperation with students from different disciplines broadens their view as a professional, something which is difficult to achieve in a mono-disciplinary project.
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Perceptions and values of care professionals are critical in successfully implementing technology in health care. The aim of this study was threefold: (1) to explore the main values of health care professionals, (2) to investigate the perceived influence of the technologies regarding these values, and (3) the accumulated views of care professionals with respect to the use of technology in the future. In total, 51 professionals were interviewed. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was applied. All care professionals highly valued being able to satisfy the needs of their care recipients. Mutual inter-collegial respect and appreciation of supervisors was also highly cherished. The opportunity to work in a careful manner was another important value. Conditions for the successful implementation of technology involved reliability of the technology at hand, training with team members in the practical use of new technology, and the availability of a help desk. Views regarding the future of health care were mainly related to financial cut backs and with a lower availability of staff. Interestingly, no spontaneous thoughts about the role of new technology were part of these views. It can be concluded that professionals need support in relating technological solutions to care recipients' needs. The role of health care organisations, including technological expertise, can be crucial here.
Purpose: This is a position paper describing the elements of an international framework for assistive techhnology provision that could guide the development of policies, systems and service delivery procedures across the world. It describes general requirements, quality criteria and possible approaches that may help to enhance the accessibility of affordable and high quality assistive technology solutions. Materials and methods: The paper is based on the experience of the authors, an analysis of the existing literature and the inputs from many colleagues in the field of assistive technology provision. It includes the results of discussions of an earlier version of the paper during an international conference on the topic in August 2017. Results and conclusion: The paper ends with the recommendation to develop an international standard for assistive technology provision. Such a standard can have a major impact on the accessibility of AT for people with disabilities. The paper outlines some the key elements to be included in a standard.
