In order to ensure this in the future and to open up orthobionics to even more students, an orthobionics bachelor's degree program is being further developed at HAWK in close cooperation with Ottobock. This ties in with the PFH's previous program and will be offered at the Göttingen Health Campus, a cooperation between HAWK and the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG).
"The aim of the state of Lower Saxony is to secure the need for skilled workers in orthopedic technology in the long term and to continue to strengthen the location of Southern Lower Saxony as a 'lighthouse' for this important field of the healthcare industry," emphasized Lower Saxony's Minister of Science Björn Thümler. The PFH will lead its current students to a Bachelor's degree in 2025 and support the Göttingen Health Campus with its expertise for a successful launch of Orthobionics.
The aim is to start the new bachelor's degree program as early as 2023.More than 120 graduates have already successfully completed the "Orthobionics" Bachelor's and Master's program at the PFH Private University of Applied Sciences Göttingen and have gone on to pursue their careers in patient care, research and development or product management in industry. "For us, the focus has always been on the students of the PFH. We are proud that the industry degree program we developed, which is innovative and geared towards the future, has been deemed so valuable by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture that it is now being funded at a state university and will thus be opened up to a larger number of students," says Prof. Frank Albe, President of the PFH. The current 80 students will complete their studies at the PFH on a regular basis. HAWK President Dr. Marc Hudy announces, "The bachelor's degree program in Orthobionics is expected to start at the Göttingen Health Campus in October 2023 with an initial 25 study places. The graduates will have the very best opportunities in the growing healthcare delivery and technology market."
Orthopedic technology is in the midst of a digital transformation. Leg prostheses controlled by microprocessors, intelligent knee orthoses or the adjustment of prostheses using an app are just some of the examples. The industry is growing nationally and internationally. "Both in industry and in patient care, there is a growing need for well-trained specialists who provide holistic care and bring with them the appropriate craftsmanship, technological, medical and scientific know-how. In view of an ever higher and increasingly digital standard of care, the demands on training are growing," emphasizes Philipp Schulte-Noelle - Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ottobock, the global market leader in technical orthopedics/prosthetics based in Duderstadt. "That's why we support the degree program and are pleased that the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science has pledged funding so that it can be offered at a state university in the future." In 2011, the PFH launched the Orthobionics bachelor's degree program, a unique academic qualification offering across Germany. The initiator for the course is Prof. Hans Georg Näder, owner of the Ottobock group of companies.
From the very beginning, the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) has been at the PFH's side as an educational partner for the degree program. With the spatial and professional connection to the UMG, the students have direct access to clinical patient care, which will also be ensured in the future. In addition, there is cooperation in application-oriented research, which enables an ideal transfer of knowledge from theory to practice and helps to scientifically answer questions from everyday care.
Another special feature of the PFH's previous practice-oriented degree program is the close nationwide cooperation with medical supply companies, performance communities and industry partners in the OT sector, which has been continuously built up by the PFH team over the past ten years. The eight-semester, interdisciplinary bachelor's degree program combined practical know-how from orthopedic technology and the sciences of medicine, biomechanics, materials science, engineering and management. It prepares approximately 20 students per year for independent and complex orthopedic technical care with orthoses, prostheses and other aids directly on the patient. The nationally recognized program has been successfully nationally accredited twice and has been rated by the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) with the highest possible designation of Professional Prosthetist/Orthotist (formerly CAT I).
"The state's decision makes it clear how universities and companies can work together creatively, sustainably and at the same time pragmatically at one location and thus achieve a national as well as international perception beyond the region," summarizes Professor Dr. Wolfgang Brück, spokesman for the Board of Management of the UMG and spokesman for the Göttingen Health Campus.
REHACARE.com; Source: Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA
