HELIS Academy

Closed

The Life Sciences and Health cluster is very important for the future of both Flanders and the Netherlands in economic and international policy. Human capital is an essential link in this to achieve the quality and innovative power of healthcare. Future professionals are not only expected to have sufficient knowledge and competences, but also to be able to use them in a correct and productive manner. HELIS Academy wants to better coordinate the necessary competencies in life sciences jobs and current training programs. In this way it fits in perfectly with one of the strategic pillars of the high-tech cooperation agenda that was established at the end of 2016 by the TOP Flanders-the Netherlands. The project will provide six courses that are initially intended for recent graduates: five short courses with 10 days of training and 6 months of internship, and 1 long course of 1 year with 1 year of internship. For example, a number of people with basic education in life sciences will be able to follow an additional practical training and internship in order to end up in the labor market with the necessary knowledge and competences in very specific areas. This way the project wants 375 students to complete short training courses. At the end of the project, it is expected that 160 students per year can participate in HELIS Academy courses. In addition, there is a need for competency screening instruments. Using these instruments, companies can optimize their competency policy for their staff. Students can also use such tools to better map their own competencies. This allows them to better orient themselves in their further study and job choices. HELIS Academy bases this screening tool on 'Ask Simon', an instrument that Flemish universities already developed for secondary school students. By joining forces of cluster organizations such as project partner Stichting DTL (Dutch Tech Center for Life Sciences) in combination with educational and research institutions, government and companies, HELIS Academy offers a clear answer to the need for suitable competencies and a solid and lasting training chain will be achieved.

Medium