On Wednesday, May 14, 2025, the Faculty of Dental Medicine and Health Osijek hosted a multiplier event as part of the European DDS-MAP project (Dynamic Digital Skills for Medical and Allied Professions), funded through the EU4Health program. The event brought together numerous participants from academia, the healthcare sector, and international project partners.
The DDS-MAP project focuses on developing and enhancing the digital skills of healthcare professionals, strengthening the resilience of healthcare systems, and encouraging innovation in education and training within the European health framework. The event aimed to present the project’s key outcomes and activities and provide a platform for the exchange of knowledge, experiences, and ideas among experts in medicine, dental medicine, public health, health informatics, and education.
The opening session featured remarks by Prof. Aleksandar Včev, MD, PhD, Dean of the Faculty, and Prof. Martina Smolić, MD, PhD, Vice Dean for Science and Postgraduate Studies. Project partners involved in the development and implementation of project activities held presentations, panel discussions, and interactive workshops on the topic of digital transformation in healthcare and education, with a special focus on the use of innovative tools and approaches in the professional development of healthcare workers.
Prof. John Wells, PhD, DDS-MAP Project Lead, and Florian Scheibein, MSc, from South East Technological University in Ireland, along with Prof. Martina Smolić, MD, PhD, provided an overview of the project’s results to date. The Italian team from the University of Udine—Gaia Dussi, PhD, Gaia Magro, PhD, Stefania Chiappinotto, PhD, Sara Dentice, PhD, Chiara Moreal, PhD, Assoc. prof. Alessandro Galazzi, PhD, Prof. Alvisa Palese, PhD, and Laura Tonzar, PhD—delivered a highly engaging lecture titled “Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) for Health Professionals: What Can We Find in the Literature?”
Stephanie Krebs, MSc, from the University of Applied Sciences in Wolfsburg, Germany, presented “Four Micro-Credentials for Cross-Occupational Expansion of Basic Digital Skills in the Health Service,” while Ana Petrović, MD, and Prof. Robert Smolić, MD, PhD, from our Faculty delivered a talk on “Digital Competence and Cybersecurity in Croatian Healthcare Professionals.”
Following this, Prof. Beata Dobrowolska, PhD, Assist. prof. Kinga Zdunek, PhD, and Magdalena Dziurka, MSN, from the Medical University of Lublin in Poland gave two insightful lectures titled “Microcredentials as a Contemporary Method of Learning Results Recognition – the European and Polish Perspectives” and “Implementation of DDS-MAP Modules: Facilitator Experience,” which were seamlessly followed by a lecture from Assist. prof. Ivana Barać, PhD, and Jasenka Vujanić, PhD, from our Faculty: “How to Deal with the Challenges and Opportunities of Remote Work and Hybrid Work Models?”
The dissemination event concluded with a discussion and networking session among project partners, following the closing lecture “Healthcare Challenges in Europe in the Next 10–20 Years,” presented by Prof. John Wells, PhD, and Florian Scheibein, MSc.
The event successfully achieved its main goal of establishing a platform to strengthen cooperation between external stakeholders and the Faculty’s teachers and students, while promoting the importance of digital literacy in the modern healthcare system.
From the media:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy_vSDxoADQ
