Key Skills of Health Technology

Description of the Key Skills of Health Technology project

Health technology is a regulated and growing sector with great export potential. The creation and commercialization of innovations and the safe use of products requires multiple competences, cooperation, and knowledge of the entire product life cycle from everyone working with medical devices.

The Department of Technical Physics, the UEF Business School and the Centre for Continuous Learning at the University of Eastern Finland are developing and piloting six new online courses for the competence needs related to healthcare technology. The flexible training programme brings together the key competencies required by those working in the field of healthcare technology. The Key Skills of Health Technology training programme strengthens competence in the design and safe use of medical devices (MD, IVD) and applications (MDSW), develops business competence in a regulated field, and promotes multidisciplinary cooperation and co-creation. In the degree programme, you can complete one or more of the 1-credit online courses and acquire new skills or update and supplement them. It is possible to complete the studies in Finnish or English.

During the training, it is possible to make use of the group and individual guidance provided by the study and career counsellor. Upon successful completion of the courses, you will receive credits and the Open badge.

Registration for the courses will start at the beginning of January 2026. The courses will open in stages, and all courses in the training programme will be offered by October 2026 at the latest. The studies can be completed free of charge until 15th December 2026.

Target audience The target groups of the training are people who develop, produce, and use medical devices, as well as those interested in the health technology sector. It is suitable, for example, for people starting out in the health technology sector, those involved in co-creation (research, development and testing), those who use medical devices in wellbeing services counties, those responsible for procurement, and those who supervise the safe use of medical devices. Those working in business administration tasks related to health technology (commercialisation, export, sales, marketing) as well as RDI staff and teachers from higher education institutions are also welcome to attend the courses.

The training programme consists of the following studies:

Fundamentals of Medical Device Approval Process and Quality Control, 2 ECTS

• Clinical evaluations and investigations on medical devices, markets and product development from a company perspective. Handling of deviations, incidents, and adverse events (vigilance system) concerning medical devices. Essential rules and regulations related to the medical devices within the EU market area.

Business and marketing, 1 ECTS

• Business areas and strengthening business thinking, commercialization process, customer segmentation, customer orientation as a starting point for operations.

Business opportunities and innovation, 1 ECTS

• Sustainable innovations, renewal, and exports as business growth.

Risk Management and Risk-Based Thinking 1 ECTS

• Basic principles of risk management and the ISO 14971 standard. Risk management as part of the quality and management system and patient safety. Risk management process, risk-based development.

Successful co-creation and the safe use of Medical Devices, 1 ECTS

• The prerequisites for co-creation, the benefits of service design, the importance of usability, the cornerstones of safe use.