PHOTOS: New building in Herning to train doctors side by side with other health professions
A former hospital in Herning has become a place of learning. SUND+ was officially opened on Friday, and in 2029 the first Master's students in Medicine from Aarhus University will move in.
Facts about SUND+
- SUND+ is an education and health campus in Herning, established by VIA University College, Aarhus University, the Central Denmark Region and Herning Municipality.
- The campus is located on Overgade in the former oncology department of Herning Hospital.
- It currently houses VIA's nursing and radiography programmes as well as municipal nursing clinics.
- From 2029, it will also be home to Master's students in Medicine from Aarhus University, with Gødstrup Regional Hospital as their base hospital.
- Read more at sund-plus.dk
Rain was pouring down over Herning when SUND+ was officially opened on Friday.
Inside the former oncology department of Herning Hospital, it was confetti raining down on the students instead, as the four partners each fired off a confetti cannon.
Around 250 guests, students and teaching staff attended the opening. For now, it is nursing and radiography students from VIA who fill the corridors, and in 2029 the first cohort of Aarhus University's Master's students in Medicine will follow.
The students will not simply share an address. They will share their everyday lives and take joint courses, and for the Rector of VIA University College, SUND+ gives students a taste of the reality that awaits them after graduation.
"Out in the real world, radiographers, nurses and doctors have different roles, but they come together in their work with the patient.
In that encounter, the professions depend on each other.
Among the speakers was Aarhus University Rector Brian Bech Nielsen, who sees great potential in bringing together the study environments and teaching of different professions.
"When students from VIA and Aarhus University see each other and work together every day, they also come to know each other's strengths. We already have a very good healthcare system in Denmark, and by strengthening interprofessional collaboration, we can help make a good system even better," the rector said.
He mentioned that he is from Holstebro himself, and that people in that part of the country are not known for patting themselves on the back.
"But today, we should just go ahead and applaud," he said.
From 2029, 60 Master's students in Medicine will study in Herning each year.
The students begin their Bachelor's degree in Aarhus, but they have chosen to take their Master's degree in Herning from the day they start.
For Anders G. Christensen, Chair of the Central Denmark Regional Council, SUND+ is above all about the Danish healthcare reform.
Under the reform, more healthcare will be delivered close to citizens, and collaboration between hospitals, municipalities and general practitioners will become more important.
"The reform will not become a reality in everyday practice on its own. It requires people who have been equipped through their education to work together. You will train together, get to know each other's professions and see the same patient pathway from different perspectives," he told the students in attendance.
Mayor of Herning Dorte West (V) closed the speeches by sharing her hopes for the campus.
"That it becomes a place where you feel you belong. A place you remember and that becomes part of who you are. Perhaps even a place you want to stay," she said.
After the speeches, the four partners were each handed a confetti cannon, and SUND+ was officially launched.
