Student group’s challenge

“Initially, that student group wanted to make an app. As I understood from somewhere, about 80% of all students want to make an app. The students came up with the problem of medication non-adherence in patients with kidney failure, and they (students) specifically wanted to target teenagers, the toughest category. For these teenagers, the students wanted to develop a new app that would give some sort of loud alarm if patients did not take their medication. However, there are already a lot of apps like this. […] And then the students switched to informational videos instead for teenagers. This was done because the students found out—during their conversations with a psychologist and all their gathered information—that an app did not add much value. The problem was not there, but there was a gap in the information patients received about the importance of therapy adherence. So, the students took that into account and eventually worked it out into an informational video. So, the students started with an app, but ultimately did something else based on input from stakeholders and patients” [T9 medication non-compliance].

Teaching activities

“The students wanted to develop an App. I told them (students) that they can, that they are allowed to do that, but that they have to think about what value the app will have compared to all other existing apps. I also encouraged them to talk to these teenagers themselves, because they (teenagers) can easily ignore the app. […] At first, the students thought their idea would be very different, and that it would really be better than other existing apps. Then I supported the students and told them to go ahead and keep researching your app. So, then I support the students, so to speak, but I still want to say to them, ‘test it with the patient for whom you are actually doing it. Because if your product is ready, and it does not match the wishes of your customer or the wishes of the patient, then you can innovate as much as you want, but then the goal is more the innovation itself than the product’. […] I support students because I still want to try to keep them (students) motivated. So that they do not immediately think, well, this app is nice but everyone is doing that and it is not going to work. The students have to discover this for themselves, like maybe this is not the ideal solution. I can tell the students that, but if they (students) experience it themselves through conversations with stakeholders, it also comes from them. And then it is better, so to speak, for the student's process. […] Yes, with that app. So students need to be able to let go of their idea, they have to be able to let go of their solution, because the solution may be different from the app that you initially wanted to develop. First, really go deep into the problem analysis, and then keep all options for possible solutions open. Does that work? I think so. Otherwise, I would not advise it to students” [T9 medication non-compliance].