1 Student Report 2009 European Network of Occupational Therapy in Higher Education (ENOTHE) Student Committee 2 3 XV Meeting of the European Network of Occupational Therapy in Higher Education, ENOTHE INTRODUCTION The European Network of Occupational Therapy in Higher Education (ENOTHE) was founded in 1995 and its goal is to unite the European Occupational Therapy Educational Programs in order to advance the education and the body of knowledge of occupational therapy. One of the specific objectives of this organization is to promote learning throughout the life of OT professionals in the international arena. ENOTHE organizes an annual international conference gathering over 400 attendees each year, between students and Occupational Therapy professors. The congress offers two views: one part aimed at professionals of Occupational Therapy; and the other, aimed at students of this discipline, in order to achieve the goals set by the organization. This year we celebrated the fifteenth annual ENOTHE Meeting at the University of A Coruña, from the 15th to the 17th of October 2009, a decision which was made at the General Assembly of ENOTHE held on October 19th in Cork, Ireland. Each year the theme of the Meeting converges with the common theme proposed by Europe. The year 2009 is the European Year of Creativity and Innovation. "Imagine‐Create‐ Innovate". The activities of the year are focused on enabling a propitious environment for creativity and innovation and to become a strong impetus for a long term policy. The event is focused on linking this issue throughout occupational therapy with education, science, culture, research and information. Highlighting creativity should encourage problem solving and the practical application of knowledge and ideas. All forms of innovation including social and entrepreneurial innovation are taken into account. Artistic creation and new approaches in culture should also receive this attention, as important means of communication between people in Europe. The purpose of the act is to remember that innovation in Spain and in Europe generates ideas, makes the society more competitive and it also offers solutions. ENOTHE STUDENT GROUP, 15th Annual Meeting, Coruña, Spain 4 STUDENT COMMITTEE THOUGHT AND PURPOSE From the moment we found out we would be the contact students for the fifteenth ENOTHE Meeting in A Coruña, we had a clear idea: we wanted to use this role to strengthen connections between occupational therapy students in Europe. We believe it is the best way to grow as a discipline, being a united group, and thereby contribute to change the realities of the clients we work with. For this reason, the whole team of students that is part of the organizing committee in A Coruña, work to create connections and alliances, in different ways and at different levels: 1 .‐ Between the students themselves at the University of A Coruña: to become involved in the process of organizing the event as a way of learning how to work in a team and nurture themselves with everything that an event like this entails. 2 .‐ Spanish students: as the host country, Spain had the opportunity to show the enormous potential it has, not only to its professionals, but to future generations. 3 .‐ With students from Europe: of which we expected, without no disapointment, to nourish us with their narrative, and to those we expect we nurtured with ours. The performance of the students has been in assembly, coordinated by a small committee of students who had some specific roles and responsibilities. The organizing committee of students was composed by the following persons: Natalia Yanaína Rivas Quarneti, Betania Groba González, Nuria Vazquez Temprano, Laura Nieto Riveiro, Iria Queijeiro Pérez, Thais Rio Diaz, Lidia Rubio Gayo, Vanessa Suárez López, Candela Presedo Sanchez and Luis Marquez Álvarez. Meanwhile, another group of around 30 students played a vital but distinct role in the process of the XV ENOTHE Meeting: Lidya Abad Itoiz, Iria Abad Rivera, Jessica Abad Rosende, Eva Alba Miranda, Beatriz Blanco Álvarez, Alba Cabanas Iglesias, Sheila Casal Barcala, Yoanna Corral Bergantiños, Rita Díaz López, Silvia Eiroa Santos, Marta Fernández González, Aroa Fernández Novo, Mirtha Flores Cuesta, Silvia Gerpe López, Silvia Grille Lema, Natalia Hermida Carballido, Mª José Hermida Magariños, Alba Laso González, Mª Teresa Lema Pérez, Lorena López Rodríguez, Soraya Mangana Rivas, Alba Mayán Carballa, Ana Mayo Martínez, Tania Muíño Vila, Noelia Rabuñal Fernández, Sonia Reboredo Taboada, Tania Romeu Ces, Marta Sánchez Yáñez, Miriam Soliño Barros, Lucía Teijeiro Lorenzo, Cristina Varela Penas. The student organizing committee participated in the XV ENOTHE Meeting in a dynamic way, trying to apply different creative and innovative tools and techniques. The actions implemented by the group of students from the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of La Coruña, have been divided into three groups: those implemented in the period before the meeting, those implemented during the meeting, and those implemented in the period following the conclusion of the meeting. The dates and timing for the organizing of the Meeting in A Coruña are the following dates: ENOTHE STUDENT GROUP, 15th Annual Meeting, Coruña, Spain 5 • Period preceding the XV ENOTHE Meeting. November 2008‐October 2009. • Period during XV ENOTHE Meeting. • Subsequent Period of XV ENOTHE Meeting. October 2009‐December 2009. ENOTHE STUDENT GROUP, 15th Annual Meeting, Coruña, Spain 6 1. PERIOD PRECEDING THE XV ENOTHE MEETING: Action 1.1: Welcome and presentation of the Faculty of Health Sciences, A Coruña. The students representing the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of A Coruña developed a welcome letter introducing and welcoming the XV Meeting of The European Network of Occupational Therapy in Higher Education (Annex 1 and Annex 2). Action 1.2: Joint development between students and ENOTHE board of the basis of the student programs of 2009. The foundation of the student projects of 2009 are based on the European Year of Creativity and Innovation. Thus, from these two qualities, European OT students were encouraged to create a project in which occupational therapy, together with its clients, increased their health. These terms were established in conjunction with the executive director of the ENOTHE, published on the official website of this network. Action 1.3: Dissemination of information to students of the University of A Coruña. The student coordinators conducted the meeting and the dissemination of information conveyed by the European Network of Occupational Therapy in Higher Education (ENOTHE) through meetings held during the month of November 2008 with various courses of Occupational Therapy. A triptych was made by the student organizing committee to achieve maximum dissemination in a clear and concise manner among students of the University of A Coruña (Annex 3). Action 1.4: Meetings and organization of working groups. The student committee held weekly meetings during the month of December 2008 with the objective that students who were motivated to help in organizing the meeting could have as much information as possible, and from that moment onwards the information could be distributed to students in groups coordinated by a student committee member and formed by representatives of the 4 courses in Occupational Therapy. The second objective of the student meetings was to assign specific tasks to different groups. On Chart 1.3.1. this distribution by groups and assigned tasks can be observed, whilst Annex 4 is attached with the list of students who conformed the meetings. Student Responsible Number of Activity of Organizing students Comittee Group 1 Space organization and sample of 9 students Laura Nieto students Group 2 Thursday Social Event: students welcome 3 students Iria Queijeiro Group 3 Saturday Social Event 6 students Thais Río Group 4 Management and organization of closet 4 students Candela Presedo ENOTHE STUDENT GROUP, 15th Annual Meeting, Coruña, Spain 7 Group 5 Organization and review of Abstracts 7 students Lidia Rubio Nuria Vázquez Group 6 Sunday tourists options 4 students Betania Groba Group 7 General tourists options 4 students Natalia Rivas Group 8 Document Translation 2 students Vanessa Suárez Group 9 Technical Assistance 2 students Luis Márquez Table 1.3.1. Students organization before the 15 Meeting of ENOTHE. Action 1.5: Dissemination in the National Student Congress of Occupational Therapy. Another measure implemented by the student Committee was the dissemination of the celebration of the Fifteenth ENOTHE Meeting nationally, with the presentation of an oral communication at the National Congress of Students of Occupational Therapy held in Talavera de la Reina during the 18th and 19th April 2009. Attached is the full text presented at the conference (Annex 5). In order to spread and give out information about the Meeting, various actions took place. The information was published at different points and is available at the following websites: ENOTHE (www.enothe.hva.nl), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of A Coruña (http://www. udc.es / fcs / s). Another action undertaken was the publication of information in the National Conference of Directors of University Schools of Occupational Therapy (CNDEUTO), in the Galician Journal of Occupational Therapy (www.revistatog.com), in the Galician Professional Association of Occupational Therapists (APGTO) and in the Spanish Professional Association of Occupational Therapists (APETO). Action 1.6: Reception of abstracts. The students were the people responsible of receiving the abstracts of the projects designed by European students and organizing them in a way that would simplify the process of evaluating them. The student abstracts were submitted until June 1st 2009. In that time we received 38 pieces of work from students all over Europe. Action 1.7: Collaboration in the creation of the evaluation system of abstracts. It was necessary to develop evaluation criteria to determine if the projects were fit or not to present at the Meeting, and to emphasize on the strong points of the projects and encourage the improvement of the weaker points.