Experiences in developing and testing an ambient assisted living course for further education

Abstract

There is a growing market for elderly care and assisted living. This trend is followed by a need for experts and professionals in health care and assistive technology. To target this need, the University of Rostock established a further education program for Ambient Assisted Living. The program consists of three courses and addresses the topics: ‘information and communication technologies’, ‘ethics and law’, ‘consulting and communication’ as well as ‘assistive technology’ in electronic health care. The courses are student-centered and especially designed for heterogeneous groups. The participants also get the opportunity to test currently available assisted living and e-health products. This paper presents the concepts and experiences establishing these courses and focuses on technical aspects of the curriculum.