Currently, I am participating in an massive online open course (MOOC) from the University of Copenhagen and Copenhagen Business School on the topic of Innovating Solutions for Aging Populations.

The free course is offered through Coursera; it started June 6th and runs until July 17th. You can read more about the course and sign up for future offerings at: https://www.coursera.org/learn/health-care-innovation

This course will introduce you to health care innovation within the theme of ‘healthy living and active aging’, covering both the medical and the commercial aspects of innovations. Following two cases on diabetes and rehabilitation, this interdisciplinary course will present the key theories, tools, and concepts within health care innovation, and teach you to analyse and develop solutions to some of the great health care challenges of our time. This master-level online course is created by leading experts from Denmark and the Netherlands and is directed at students and practitioners from different fields, including public health and business economics. This course is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT Health).

EIT Health develops talents, drives innovative business ideas forward and boosts the global competitiveness of European industry through three key programmes that will offer a vibrant ecosystem for future entrepreneurs, academics and businesses.

Sometimes, I get a bit too excited about taking online courses. I like to watch the videos on the weekends or in the evenings during my yoga time. I think I have completed over 25 courses in the past 18 months, which actually adds up to quite a bit of time commitment. But, I really do love learning and the variety of topics offered on Coursera and edX really makes it interesting. Anyway, as I was wrapping up the Re-thinking Ageing course last week (read my posts about the course here), of course I decided to sign up for 4 more courses 😛

I am particularly interested in this course on Innovating Solutions because of the content (being a specialist in gerontechnology – technologies for and to benefit aging adults – and having an entrepreneurial spirit) and because it is hosted by the University of Copenhagen and Copenhagen Business School – both some 15 minutes by bike away from my home. I am hoping not only to brush up on what is happening in the field and future opportunities and trends, but also to make some connections in Copenhagen where I could hopefully take my work in this field further.

I will be making weekly posts about the course content, and hope that it gets you thinking, inspired, and even excited enough to share your thoughts in the comments!

Week 2:  Diabetes

Week 3:  Rehabilitation

Week 4:  The Business Case

Week 5:  Digital Health Care Design