Search for study unit:	ECTS	1	2	1A	1S	2A	2S	1	2	3	4	5	1	2	3	4	5
CORE COMPETENCE	30
Module 1: Processes and Projects in Health Technology
Operational Environment and Processes of Health Technology	5
Projects in the Operational Environment of Health Technology	5
Module 2: Development in Health Technology
Application Development in Health Technology	5
Research and Development of Medical Equipment	5
Module 3: Knowledge Management and Digitalization
Knowledge Management in the Production of Health and Well-Being Services	5
Digitalization in Social and Health Care	5
		20	10	15	5	10	0	7.5	7.5	1.7	1.7	1.7	5	5	3.3	3.3	3.3
COMPLEMENTARY COMPETENCE	60
Module 1: Research and Development Activity
RDI in Health and Well-Being Services	5
Research Methodology Skills	5
Module 2: Development and Communication
Professional Communication Skills	5
System Analysis and Development Methods	5
Optional Studies (Select 10 ECTS)
Master's Thesis
Development Project Plan	10
Interim Report of the Development Project	10
Final Report of the Development Project	10
		30	20	10	20	10	10	5	5	6.67	6.67	6.67	5	5	3.33	3.33	3.33
ECTS credits per period / semester / academic year		50	30	25	25	20	10	12.5	12.5	8.7	8.7	8.7	10	10	6.3	6.3	6.3

Programme description

Programme
Health Tecnology

Degree
Master of Health Care / Social Services

Extent of the study programme
90 ECTS credit (cr), 2 years

Study objectives
The Master’s Degree in the Health Technology Programme provides students with the qualifications to work independently as a specialist or equally as an independent entrepreneur in the field. After completion of the degree, students have a good command of the knowledge, terms and methods of expertise in the field, all which he is able to use respecting critical thinking and justification, in professional problem solving -, development and research tasks, in innovative actions and in management.

The education programme aims to provide you with the abilities to work in developing and expertise requiring task in the field of Well-Being and Health Care Technology. You shall have the opportunity to learn project managing skills and to become a specialist in innovating and developing technological products and services that support well-being.

The Health Technology education aims to answer for the requirements and changes brought by digitalization. One of the basic ideas of this education programme is that the purpose of knowledge is to support reforming services in the Well-Being field in which information systems and data management are in key positions. The objective is to design and develop information systems and electronic health care services so that they can help and support the well-Being- and healthcare professionals in their everyday work tasks. In addition, information security, use of user-centred development methods and expertise in regulation play an important role in the education.

The education process has been designed to be flexible, which enables students to form a personal curriculum to meet their own field of expertise, working background and aspires for career development. Thanks to both varying learning- and development tasks and the thesis which is to be implemented as a type of development project, students can focus on developing their skills within their own area of expertise, or equally in new areas. Both independent and co-operative working methods support the learning and skills development of students.

The education programme aims to strengthen the cooperation between the University of Applied Sciences and working life. Passing this Master’s degree provides the student with abilities to work in varying work tasks and environments, due to the know-how in which mobility and adaptability are emphasized. Students develop a sense of life-long learning and they are also able to reflect on how to develop their professional skills. The programme also aims to support students’ abilities to work in a professional environment, and even in international cooperation.

Structure of studies and study contents
The Degree programme in Health Technology is carried out partly in cooperation with the similar degree program offered by the Social and Health Care faculty of the Turku University of Applied Sciences.
The curriculum is structured so that all the degree programmes consist of core competences: advanced professional studies and complementary studies: Research and Development Activity and Development and Communication, elective studies and the thesis (Decree 1129, section 2/2014).
Student may also include courses in the optional studies offered by the Well Being Technology of Satakunta University of Applied Sciences.
The planned length of the studies is one and half academic years. The programme will be implemented so that it is possible to complete the studies while working full-time in the industry.

Studies are organized as part-time studies. Contact instruction is given 2 days per month during the first academic year. Teamwork and communality are emphasized in the studies. Student prepares an individual study plan which is closely related to the implementation of the thesis.
Advanced Professional Studies (50 cr)

The Master’s Degree in Master of Health Care / Social Services offers good abilities to face and solve technical problems. However, the practical work in Well-Being Technology field in cooperation with Engineering experts requires also knowing and handling essential methods and terms, processes of operational environment and regulation. Advanced Professional Studies will provide students with information to meet these requirements. Large part of the development work in Well-Being Technology is carried through as projects in modern organisations. Thus, Advanced Professional Studies include a study module on project management in an operational environment. Method studies form a foundation for starting and carrying through a development project as students are familiarised with the basics of qualitative and statistical research.

Optional Studies (10 cr)

Students can choose any 10 cr course to supplement their career development needs from the offering of other Master’s courses of TUAS or offered by the Well Being Technology of Satakunta University of Applied Sciences.

Thesis (30cr)
The goal of the thesis project is to develop the student’s ability to utilize state-of-the-art knowledge, methods and tools to analyze and solve real-life challenges. The thesis process also coaches the student to successfully perform and lead complex expert-level assignments.

Competence objectives

The aim of the studies is to give students

1. extensive, in-depth knowledge required for the development of working life practices in one’s field and the necessary theoretical knowledge for acting in demanding expert and leadership tasks in the field
2. a comprehensive view of the field in question, of its position in working life and its social importance, and readiness for analysis of research knowledge in the field as well as for monitoring the development of professional practices and analysing it
3. skills for life-long learning and readiness for continuous development of one’s own professional skills
4. the communication and language skills required by working life
5. readiness to work in international interaction and professional practice (A423/2005).

Pedagogic approaches

The point of departure for the pedagogical teaching arrangements is a social-constructivist learning concept and a working method promotion innovation in learning and development. Learning is seen as the learner’s active social behaviour in which the learner interprets their observations and new knowledge on the basis of their earlier knowledge and experiences. The Master’s degree offers students an opportunity to develop and deepen their own professional expertise. Expertise is seen as competence based on high quality knowledge which grows and develops through continuous self-reflection. In the pedagogical activities, the principles of adult pedagogy are applied. Adult students coming from working life have learning needs that differ from those of the young; in the student counselling of adults their specific features as learners with individual experiences and goals are taken into account. Knowledge is not passed on to the students as such, but instead students are seen as goal-oriented and self-directing learners and active processors of information, and as agents producing new innovations. Students are guided towards active, critical thinking and goal-oriented construction of the knowledge basis needed in clinical expertise and development competence.

Teaching arrangements

Teaching includes contact lessons and independent work. The contact lessons are arranged ca. once a month as periods of two days. The contact lessons are formed of individual and small group study guidance, expert lectures as orientation to the study modules, and seminar work. Electronic communication is a central tool in study guidance. Independent work and interactive online studies and guidance play an important part in the studies. Independent studies consist of among other things reading literature, research and articles, of learning assignments, small group work and individually chosen other seminars and conferences. Part of the teaching is implemented in a foreign language. Clinical leadership skills are applied in diverse clinical work environments taking into account the students’ individual starting points and learning needs.
Working life connection

Close collaboration with working life throughout the studies is a support for the goal-oriented progress of the studies. The learning and working environment is extensive, flexible and open. Knowledge is construed and learning takes place while participating in clinical practices in different working environments. Development projects in working life, multi-professional expert communities and the use of information and communication technologies enable student-centred study forms in which students, teaching staff, working life experts and stakeholders in other organisations form extensive co-operation networks. Situational contexts, and collaborative and development oriented applied research are the point of departure for the working life based learning process. Students increase their expertise through the problems posed by the members of the learning community, the views they themselves form and the critical assessment of the theories and evidence based knowledge they have found.
On the basis of the studies in the degree programme, students draw up their individual study plan (ISP) at the beginning of their degree studies. This is a dynamic process during which students choose their study objects according to their learning needs. In the individual programme and study plan, the student’s earlier education, working life experience, personal life situation and readiness for self-directed learning are taken into consideration. The drafting of an individual study plan starts immediately at the beginning of the studies. The student’s learning process is supported by the tutor activities, peer tutoring and working life mentoring offered by the educational system. Internationalisation, regional development activities and research and development skills are taken into account in the guidance and support.

Assessment

Evaluation of learning
The studies towards a Master's degree are subject to continuous evaluation which is both supervising and developing in nature. The objects of evaluation are both the student's learning process in its different phases and the learning outcomes.

The point of departure for the evaluation is the student's career and study plan and portfolios describing the student's professional growth. The evaluation of learning is based on the goal descriptions presented in the curricula. The choice of contents and pedagogy in the course units, and the choice of assessment methods support the achievement of the degree programme goals. The target for the evaluation is the student’s development toward professional expertise. Another central target for the evaluation is the working life development task together is the student’s learning process together with its outcomes. The evaluation consists of self-evaluation by both the student and the group, of peer evaluation, of feedback from working life and of the assessment of the instructors.

The criteria for evaluation and approval are decided by the teachers responsible for the implementation of the studies. Responsible teachers participate in person in the oral or written feedback on each study module. The gathering and integration of the evaluation is the responsibility of the instructors.

Completion of all the parts of a study module prescribed by the curriculum is a prerequisite for approval. The grades given for approved studies are excellent (5), good (4-3), satisfactory (2-1) or approved / completed for courses the grading of which has thus been described in the implementation plan. The information on completed courses will be entered in the study records of Turku University of Applied Sciences.

Recognition refers to the student’s right to have studies completed in Finnish or foreign higher education institutions or other educational institutions recognised in his or her degree. Recognition takes place either by replacing degree studies with studies completed elsewhere or by including studies completed elsewhere in the degree. Students also have the right to apply for the recognition of competence acquired elsewhere through a demonstration. Previously completed studies may be recognised in accordance with the degree regulations of Turku University of Applied Sciences. (Degree regulations of Turku University of Applied Sciences 16th of October 2017.) Students are responsible for providing proof of the scope and content of prior studies. Applications for recognition must be submitted via SoleOps. Decisions on the approval of applications are made by the degree programme leader.

Recognition and accreditation of knowledge and skills acquired earlier (AHOT) is based on competence based thinking. In competence based recognition, the point of departure is learning and competence, not completion of studies. (A352/2003) Recognition from the student’s viewpoint means that the student strives to understand the competence they have acquired in different ways by analysing it in relation to the competence goals of the degree programme. The student needs to be able to describe and demonstrate their competence which is assessed by the institute arranging the teaching. (ARENE 2009).

Students can on certain grounds be accredited for other, equivalent studies completed at a domestic or foreign higher education institute as part of their degree. Accreditation means the acceptance of studies, practice, work experience or competence as part of the degree or course to be completed. The sub concepts of accreditation are compensation and inclusion. Compensation is a form of accreditation in which required studies in the curriculum are compensated with other, contents-wise equivalent studies in the same field. Inclusion is a form of accreditation in which studies completed elsewhere are included as a part of the degree as for instance alternative or optional studies. Earlier studies can be accredited according to the valid Degree Regulation of Turku University of Applied Sciences. The duty of demonstrating the extent and contents of the studies lies with the student. Accreditation is applied for per study module on the form created for it. The application is approved by the Degree Programme Manager. The decision on approval or rejection of the application is submitted to the Student Counselling Office and the student.

Evaluation of education
Education is developed with the help of regularly collected feedback. The evaluation consists of feedback from students and working life, of the assessment of theses implemented as working life development tasks, of the efficacy of the products of various development projects, of benchmarking, and of self-evaluations and analyses by the degree programmes. Students assess their learning and give feedback on the planning and implementation of teaching in different forms and different combinations per study module, per term and in the end phase of their studies. The received feedback is made use of in the development of the degree programme.