InnoCompTec

InnoCompTec brings the public eldercare into focus which is and will be a challenging sector for many years to come. Not only Scandinavia, but all of the EU share similar challenges. The Western World is facing the same challenges in securing a high-functioning welfare society with efficient health services. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused social and economic changes, and it has required behavioural changes in the population as well. It is crucial to learn from the crisis and ensure the prevention of new outbreaks of infection developing as Covid-19. In addition, Europe is facing a challenging development in demographics as the main population ages and fewer younger citizens enter the labour market. Welfare is threatened by a vast labour shortage regarding social and healthcare personnel which presumably will increase in the future. Already, the municipalities are experiencing challenges recruiting to the public eldercare. If the level of service is to be maintained and the municipalities are to provide the core welfare, innovation is a necessity to ensure the necessary labour force with the proper qualifications. The pandemic had many consequences for the social and healthcare personnel in the municipalities. Many fell ill and in long periods of time, the nursing home centres were severely understaffed. Thus, prevention as well as dissemination of infection among the staff members in the nursing home centres has been a political focus to avoid the acceleration of Covid-19 and other infectious diseases in the future. InnoCompTec is aimed at keeping present social and healthcare personnel, increasing their motivation and ensuring their work climate, reducing their sickness absence, and making it more appealing to recruit new labour force into the public eldercare. In this perspective, the purpose of InnoCompTec is to develop the present staff members' competences in a new and innovative manner using known simulation technologies. New Living Labs will be established in the two partner municipalities where the development of competences will take place in close cooperation with selected life science businesses. 6 design processes three in Vesthimmerland and three in Mölndal will commence in order to develop both Virtual Reality (VR) and Argumented Reality (AR) to simulate prevention and dissemination situations as well as Avatar technology to practice dialogues about these matters with citizens and relatives. Starting from a current exploration of staff members' competences in prevention and dissemination of infection, a thorough analysis will be conducted throughout the project. The results of the analysis will demonstrate the effect and significance of the competence processes. In total 60 staff members and 6 teachers from the two partner municipalities will participate in the 6 design processes.InnoCompTec is made up by a powerful partnership across national borders between the Swedish municipality, Mölndal, including the Education organisation Campus Mölndal, and the Danish municipality, Vesthimmerland, the Danish scientific research centre, Professionshøjskolen UCN, and the Danish Life Science Cluster. In addition, the partnership will involve six Swedish and Danish life science businesses, whose task it is to develop applications to selected simulation technologies. They will have the opportunity to accelerate their products through this public-private innovation cooperation (OPI in Danish). Last, but not least, a Best Practice Handbook about implementing the project results in practice will be developed. The results will uncover the areas with continuous need for development of competences which can commence after the project ensuring a viable, long-term development of competences and continuing use of the Living Lab facilities.