Ruth Kerkaert and Emeline Mestdag, students, Artevelde University of Applied Sciences.
The University of Applied Sciences in Ghent has a long history of organising an Intensive Programme on Audiology across Borders – this year was the 23rd edition. This intensive and interactive exchange week allowed 53 students from nine educational institutions in six countries to explore the similarities and differences within audiology education and the profession in their different countries. In addition, the students discussed what possibilities their degree offers when they graduate.
On Friday morning, the foreign students explored the Fabrication Laboratory on campus, while the Belgian students played an immersive 360° healthcare game. On Friday afternoon, Dr Sarah Hogan spoke passionately in the first lecture about ‘Auditory Verbal Therapy: creating a sound for deaf children’.
After the weekend, on Monday morning, two audiologists from Oticon and Starkey spoke about their products’ innovative features such as built-in fall detection. Dr Els Walravens told the students about ‘Guidelines for managing trainable hearing aids’ and Professor Dr Griet Mertens talked about ‘CI and unilateral deafness.’
During the week, all students went together to Mechelen for a visit to the Cochlear Technology Centre. There, the group was informed about the innovative research and technology surrounding cochlear implants and was provided a guided tour through the different departments of the entire company.
On Tuesday, Amanda Goodhew from the UK gave a lecture about VRA and CPA. In addition, the foreign students visited the revalidation centre CAR Sint-Lievenspoort in Ghent, where they discovered how the multidisciplinary centre works on audiological rehabilitation.
On Wednesday, Tom Neuttiens led a workshop about 3D printing. He has been teaching at the Arteveldehogeschool for years and gave the students a broader view of the different types of 3D printing in an interesting and light-hearted way. The afternoon was filled with a final lecture on 'navigating and sharing meaning with our patients'. The day ended with a discussion and audiology quiz on the whole IPAB week.
Besides a lot of interesting lectures, there were also many recreational activities, including a city walk through the historical centre of Ghent to get to know the culture and each other a bit better. Additionally, some students from Artevelde organised a fun evening activity at JumpSky where the evening ended with a nice drink and some crazy karaoke.
