First live meeting – how was it?

On January 25^th and 26^th, 2024 the first live team meeting of the entire SIMBA project consortium was held at the University of Applied Health Sciences in Zagreb, Croatia. This meeting marked the end a very successful first year of the project and was attended by colleagues from all five project partners: AP Hogeschool Antwerpen; Turun Ammattikorkeakoulu OY (Finland); Istanbul Medipol Universitesi Vafki (Turkey), FH Joanneum Gesellschaft MBH (Austria) and Zdravstveno veleučilište (Croatia).

The purpose of the meeting was to present the results of the work completed in the first project year and to develop, plan and discuss future project activities. At the meeting, Claire Sangster Jokić, Andreja Bartolac and Laurence Magerat presented the final results of Work Package 2: the SIMBA Framework of occupational therapy competencies for SBL in OT education and SIMBA Guidelines for the implementation of simulation-based learning in OT education. These documents are the result of intensive work and cooperation and will serve as a basis for planning the next phases of the project. Project members Katrin Pechstadt and Greet Schrauwen presented the results of a scoping review of the literature conducted in Work Package 3 to examine assessment in simulation-based learning. On behalf of Work Package 4, Ahmet Emir presented the results of a scoping review conducted to examine current evidence for best practice and methods applied in SBL in OT education. Together, the results of the work completed in the first project year will be used as a resource to execute upcoming project activities, including the development of simulation scenarios and teaching materials for the application of SBL in occupational therapy education, a standardized tool for evaluating competencies in SBL and a manual for teachers. These tools will be used to implement SBL in the study programs of all partner institutions.

The meeting offered an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences with project colleagues and engage in productive, collaborative, and constructive planning to ensure the continued progress and success of the SIMBA project. Under the skilful leadership and clear vision of project coordinator Kuni Vergauwen, the meeting served to re-fuel our commitment and inspiration to this valuable endeavour! 

Stay tuned to the SIMBA project website for future updates on the work of all of our partners. Coming soon: online publication of the SIMBA Framework and Guidelines and a free webinar series!