An interdisciplinary masters course and

further education in Ambient Assisted Living

MAAL

Master

Ambient

Assisted

Living

Maxine Saborowski, Ingrid Kollak

Alice Salomon Hochschule – University of Applied Sciences, Berlin

EURASHE 22nd Annual Conference 2012 – 11.05.12 – Riga

Overview

1. Introduction to the project

2. What is Ambient Assisted Living (AAL)?

3. Development of the courses – based on the “Tuning

Educational Structures in Europe” model

4. The courses – structure and contents

2

1. Introduction

3

The project MAAL:

� Funded by the German Federal Ministry of

Education and Research

� Project duration: Summer 2011 till Summer 2014

� Start of the courses: Winter term 2013/14

� Two types of courses:

1. Masters course (2 years, for people with a

Bachelors degree)

2. Further education courses (open to all people

who want to learn about AAL)

4

Intro

Intention of the project:

1. Lifelong learning: courses for people with

professional experience

2. Part-time courses for employed people: using a

blended-learning concept

3. Interdisciplinary programme: open to different

disciplines, such as engineering science, social

science, (industrial) design, nursing science,

economics etc.

5

Intro

The partners of the project:

� Alice Salomon Hochschule –

University of Applied Sciences Berlin

� Hochschule fuer Technik und Wirtschaft –

University of Applied Sciences Berlin

� German Institute for Standardization (DIN)

� YOUSE Berlin

6

Intro

2. AAL – How to benefit from

new technologies

Viviane Reding, former EU Commissioner for the Information Society and Media:*

"There is no reason for older people in Europe to miss out on the benefits of

new technologies. The solutions and services resulting from this programme

[AAL Joint Programme of the EU ] will help them to remain active in society

as well as staying socially connected and independent for a longer time."

* EU press release Brussels, 23 June 2008

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/994&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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AAL

Ambient Assisted Living (AAL)networked technologies,

(information and communication) systems, and

design initiatives

which aim to facilitate greater independence and a better quality of life

mainly for people with disabilities and the elderly (people, who have

special needs)

⇒ Facing the demographic change and the wish for healthy ageing

⇒ Building on existing technical knowledge and know-how

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AAL

AAL – a complex process

We need experts who are able to integrate very different

kinds of knowledge:

AAL product design is not simply a technical process!

� Public health data and knowledge about ageing

�Universal Design Thinking: creative methods for the process of problem solving,

with regard to accessibility and usability

�User integration: participation of users in the process of product design

� Intuitive interfaces, sustainable material, understandable operating manuals,

easy maintenance

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AAL

A history of technical support:

emergency calls

Lighting reacts to

activity to prevent falls

Project „SensFloor®“

www.sensfloor.de

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AAL

Driver assistance systems A very prominent example:

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AAL

Driver assistance systems Not only for the elderly...?!

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AAL

Assistance systems for the blindExamples of useful apps

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AAL

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/05/how-the-blind-are-reinventing-the-iphone/256589/

3. “Tuning Educational Structures in

Europe”

14

Basic conditions:

EU Joint Programme AAL and German Federal Ministery of Education

and Research stated the need for qualifying people to become

experts in AAL (being an engineer is not enough)

Very few (academic) courses available in this field so far

Project MAAL: ideal resources available through cooperation of two

universities, combining engineering and health care

Degree title (draft): “AAL Product Design and Consulting”

Tuning

Specific competences on Master level

Areas:

a) User Integration (ability to identify users, knowledge about needs, ...)

b) Technical Development and Design (knowledge about state of the art...)

c) Methods (how to plan, how to test, how to evaluate solutions, ...)

d) Financing and insurance (knowledge about health care system,

standardisation, ...)

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Tuning

Main objectives:

How to start the process of product development from the perspective

of the users

How to integrate the users in the process, from idea to marketing

Public health helps: data on needs and demands

Learning-by-doing: how to work together in an interdisciplinary team

Accreditation of the masters course planned for 2013

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Tuning

4. The courses – key concepts

Public healthUniversal Design

Thinking

User Centred

Design &

Participative

methods

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Courses

Courses will start Oct 2013

Participation – a key term!

Course content:

Focus on participatory methods and user integration

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Courses

Course design:

Participation of students and employers

as integral element (“Tuning” model)

Structure of the Masters course

� open to people with a Bachelors degree and interest in AAL

� 4 terms (= 2 years), part-time

� 90 CP for the degree

� 14 modules, plus two optional modules

� project-related learning in small interdisciplinary groups

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Courses

Structure of the further

education courses

� open to people with practical experience and interest in AAL

� also open to non-academics

� one course will be 2 days on a weekend plus e-learning

� certificate (describing contents and CP)

� project-related learning in small interdisciplinary groups

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Courses

Open questions: How to…

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� make the topic “AAL” attractive for people with an engineering

background?

� integrate students from different disciplines?

� offer two types of courses which do not compete against each other?

Courses

Résumé

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� A range of very different AAL solutions has been presented.

� The process of AAL product design is very complex and requires

interdisciplinary teamwork as well as user integration concepts.

� The students of the MAAL masters course and the participants of

the the further education courses will be qualified to master this

complex process.

Résumé

Thank you

for your attention!

Contacts at ASH: saborowski@ash-berlin.eu

kollak@ash-berlin.eu

Our website: http://www.ash-berlin.eu/en/research/current-research-projects/maal