Fit4Health 2021: a Unique Immersion Program in France
After a successful first edition, the IUIS launched its 2021 Fit4Health program —Clinical Immersion edition— in February. The second edition of this training-through-research program is unique in France.
For eight months, six fellows take part in hospital immersion in multidisciplinary teams.
The selected applicants include engineers, pharmacists, student doctors, and international and business project managers. Between entrepreneurship and innovation, the fellows focus on under-addressed medical needs in order to build concrete technological solutions.
The second edition of Fit4Health is supported by the Sorbonne University Foundation, led by the University Institute of Health Engineering of Sorbonne University, which has benefited from major support from the Sanofi Espoir Foundation through its involvement in the co-construction of the program and its contribution in financial sponsorship.
At the crossroads of the Faculties of Arts and Humanities, Medicine, and Science and Engineering, the University Institute of Health Engineering of Sorbonne University (IUIS) supports and accompanies research projects based around major technological health issues. Encouraging exchanges between researchers, teachers, clinicians and students, the IUIS's mission is to support and promote innovative research to treat, accompany and facilitate the lives of patients.
"The Fit4Health program brings together several issues that totally correspond to my aims in the professional world: entrepreneurship, innovation in health, immersion in one of the largest hospitals, and an international program. It was my dream!" - Karol Mena, a 2020 graduate of Sorbonne University in Engineering for Health and Fellow of the 2021 edition of Fit4Health.
Crédits : Sorbonne Université - Institut Universitaire d'Ingénierie en Santé
Fit4Health 2021, Maternal and neonatal health, Emergency care
Driven by a collaborative and participatory vision, the objective of Fit4Health 2021 is to explore and respond to needs of access to care, with two focus areas: maternal and neonatal health and emergency care. The selected students will be able to observe and meet with field actors and take part in innovative methodological workshops. The Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) hospitals and the Saint-Louis Hospital in Senegal will host the fellows of this 2021 edition for eight months.
Valérie Faillat, Managing Director of the Sanofi Espoir Foundation states, "The improvement of maternal and neonatal health and access to healthcare for vulnerable populations are two major areas of work for the Sanofi Espoir Foundation, particularly in Senegal and France, with 50 projects supported since its creation. By focusing on the needs of vulnerable populations in the field, the work of Fit4Health 2021 corresponds to both our method and our mission."
One challenge - two areas of intervention:
- To identify and respond to the needs of pregnant women for access to care, before, during and after childbirth in two complex contexts of care pathways in France and Senegal;
- To identify and respond to the needs related to access to hospital emergency services.
Djamel Bouhadjer, Fit4Health Program Manager explains, "Boosted by the success of the 2020 edition, the Fit4Health program is exploring the field of access to healthcare this year, including for people in vulnerable situations. During the first three weeks of the program, called BootCamp, the Fellows had the opportunity to benefit from several Masters Classes and workshops on medical, technological, social and economic issues. All these sessions were led by leading figures in their field at the national and European levels."
Supported by EIT Health (the European Institute of Innovation and Technology in Health), in partnership with the AP-HP and the Sanofi Espoir Foundation, Fit4Health meets the challenges of research and innovative education at Sorbonne University while addressing major societal challenges such as global healthcare access and the contribution of technology to improved healthcare.
The Sorbonne University Foundation
The Sorbonne University Foundation works to develop concrete solutions to major societal issues and ensure the academic leadership of Sorbonne University. It acts to promote the national and international visibility of the University, the full mobilization of its community, including its graduates, and an increased synergy with the economic world.
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