RADIC project

Globally, there are an estimated 2.4 billion people currently living with health conditions that benefit from rehabilitation. The digital transformation provides an opportunity to develop a more accessible and personalized rehabilitation model and system in East Africa. 

The specific objectives of the project are to:  

1.) Strengthen the role of higher education in promoting rehabilitation in society. 

2.) Enhance educational opportunities related to Digital Rehabilitation and achieve higher quality of education in East Africa in the field of Digital Rehabilitation for the Social, Health and Education Sectors. 

The main target groups of the project include teachers and social and health care professionals, and students. Other target groups are corporate sectors, rehabilitation service users, and society.  

The project will achieve its objectives by building and developing capacity between higher education and the workplace, by fostering ongoing collaboration between the project program and partner countries. 

Various stakeholders are invited to participate in the development work, including East African partners at different levels. Based on evidence-based knowledge, regional and international workshops and trainings will improve the skills of teachers, students, and healthcare professionals in digital rehabilitation. Results will be widely disseminated through websites, social media, dissemination events, and new open learning opportunities. 

a) Innovation Community  

As a first step a regional Innovation Community for Digital Rehabilitation in East Africa will be developed. This Innovation Community functions as an education and learning platform enhancing the cooperation between rehabilitation education, working life and the business sector. Each partner also facilitate local country level networks to provide additional value for regional cooperation. Furthermore, the competencies/skills of teachers, students and health care professionals will be assessed through a questionnaire. These results serve as a basis for the next steps in this project. 

b) Handbook for teachers, students and health professionals  

In addition the pedagogical competencies/skills and knowledge of teachers and students in the field of digital rehabilitation will be improved. For this, a digital handbook for teachers and a handbook for students and health professionals will be developed. The handbooks will be created based on the identified needs from the previous step (questionnaire). Here you can find the handbook.

The handbook for teachers focuses on digital pedagogy and includes a toolkit of methods that empower the learner in a digital environment and facilitate the learner's digital competences. The handbook for students and health professionals provides a publication format for innovations, results of development tasks and research results for students, professionals, and stakeholders. 

c) Curricula and courses  

To equip the current and future health professional with the needed skills and to serve the working life needs now, and in the future, the curricula in partners institutions in Digital Rehabilitation will be renewed. It is planned that 15 Credits curricula in multidisciplinary Digital Rehabilitation will be developed. The partners aim to pilot one course in Digital Rehabilitation (5 ECTS Credits) to ensure long-term impact and practical suitability of the renewed curricula. 

Jamk University of Applied Sciences (Jamk)

Jamk is a Finnish higher education institution in Jyväskylä, Finland. It offers a wide range of bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in technology, business, health and social studies, and culture. JAMK focuses on providing practical and industry-relevant education, combining theoretical knowledge with hands-on learning experiences. Currently, the University has over 8 500 students and 700 employees. Read more. 

Institute of Rehabilitation is part of the School of Health and Social Studies at Jamk University. The Institute is a center for education, development, and research in multidisciplinary rehabilitation.  It advocates for digital-first rehabilitation that empowers people to manage their health, well-being, and rehabilitation needs. Currently, over 850 students are studying rehabilitation. Read more.  

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Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT)

JKUAT is situated in Juja, 36 kilometers North east of Nairobi, along Nairobi-Thika Highway. It was started in 1981 as a Middle Level College by the Government of Kenya with the generous assistance from the Japanese Government. The University provides accessible quality training, research, innovation, and entrepreneurship to produce leaders in the fields of Agriculture, Engineering, Technology, Enterprise Development, Built Environment, Health Sciences, Social Sciences and other Applied Sciences to suit the needs of a dynamic world read more.  

Department of Rehabilitation Sciences in the School of Medicine is a confluence of health professions specializing in the physical and psychosocial functioning aspects involving the management of disorders that alter the function and performance of the client/patient. The Department offers three Bachelor’s programmes (Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Medical Social Work) and one Master’s programme (Physiotherapy, with specialization in; Orthopedics, Sports and Neuro-rehabilitation). The Centre for Research in Rehabilitation and Assistive Technology (CREATS), is a research initiative within the Department. CREATS exists as a vehicle to propel the research agenda on rehabilitation with JKUAT being a major stakeholder in the training of Rehabilitation professionals in Kenya and beyond read more.  

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The Moi University College of Health Sciences (MUCHS)

The Moi University College of Health Sciences (MUCHS) is located in Eldoret, Kenya and is part of the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) medical campus. The college includes four allied Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Public Health and Dentistry as well as the Institute of Biomedical Informatics. Moi University, School of Medicine, is Kenya’s second largest medical school and offers 4 undergraduate courses in Medicine and Surgery, Medical Laboratory Sciences, Medical Psychology and Physical Therapy with 982 students and sixteen post-graduate courses in several medical and surgical fields with 366 students. For the project, MU offers its experience especially from promotion of Community Based Rehabilitation. For more details visit https://som.mu.ac.ke/index.php/about-us, and https://www.mu.ac.ke/index.php/en/about-moi-university/about-moi.html.

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The University of Global Health Equity (UGHE)

The University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) was established in 2015, with the vision of advancing global health delivery by training a new generation of global health leaders equipped to build and sustain effective and equitable health systems. UGHE offers a Master of Science in Global Health Delivery, a one-year, blended learning program for working professionals from diverse health backgrounds; and a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery/Master of Science in Global Health Delivery (MBBS/MGHD), which is a six and a half-year, bachelor’s level medical degree coupled with a master’s level global health degree. You can access more information about UGHE through this link https://www.ughe.org.

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The University of Rwanda (UR)

The University of Rwanda (UR) has a vision to be a leading University that develops highly enterprising graduates prepared and dedicated to building a more just and sustainable society locally, nationally, and globally, with appropriate innovations that advance quality of life. For more details, visit www.ur.ac.rw.

The Regional Centre of Excellence in Biomedical Engineering and E-health (CEBE) at the University of Rwanda, is one of the East African Institutions partnering with JAMK University of Applied Sciences – Finland, in the RADIC project. CEBE is conceptualized as part of AfDB’s first Human Capacity Development strategy that aims to build human capital for inclusive growth in Africa. Part of this strategy includes investments in science and technology skills development that supports job creation, as well as promote research and innovation. For more details visit: https://cebe.ur.ac.rw/.

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Hochschule für Gesundheit (HS Gesundheit)

Hochschule für Gesundheit (HS Gesundheit) is a University of Applied Sciences located in Bochum, Germany. There are about 1.800 students enrolled in 14-degree programs. Four departments (Department of Applied Health Sciences, Department of Nursing, Department of Community Health, and Department of Economics and Sustainability in Health Care) offer Bachelor and Master degree programs in health care studies and economics. Special features of the HS Gesundheit are a modern didactic concept, the close link between theory and practice, an extensive network with partners offering internships and intensive support provided to students while studying. For more information, see https://www.hs-gesundheit.de/en/.

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The Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College (KCMUCo)

KCMUCo was established in 1997 aiming to become a center of excellence in rehabilitation sciences in Tanzania according to the KCMUCo Strategic Plan 2023-2026. It is a constituent College of Tumaini University, which is owned by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania. The College utilizes the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center (KCMC) as its Referral Teaching Hospital and the Kilimanjaro Christian Research Institute (KCRI) as its academic centre for evidence based health interventions. KCMUCo has gained a strong reputation as a trusted and respected Medical University, both within Tanzania and internationally. KCMUCo is the only university in the region with an independent Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, which has been a hub for training rehabilitation professionals for four decades, particularly in physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and prosthetics and orthotics. The ongoing collaborations with consortium members signify a commitment to advancing the goals outlined in the KCMUCo Strategic Plan 2023-2026, aiming to elevate the institution to a center of excellence in rehabilitation sciences. For more information, see https://kcmuco.ac.tz/.