Heriot-Watt University and Edinburgh Napier University are bringing together engineering and nursing students to develop innovative health technologies that address prescient clinical needs.

The Edinburgh-based universities have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the joint programme which will see Heriot-Watt engineering students visit Napier’s specialised clinical simulation facilities to gain first-hand understanding of current healthcare scenarios and challenges.

The learnings, alongside insights from Napier’s nursing students into patient needs and care, will lead to projects focused on co-designing health solutions that target clinical issues.

“Nurses are an untapped reservoir of innovative solutions for the health and care sector,” explained Cathal Breen, professor of simulation and clinical skills at Edinburgh Napier, which is the only Scottish university to offer pre-registration training in all four nursing specialties and midwifery.

“However, the health sector workforce is not currently incentivised to come up and come forward with solutions,” he added. “In our new agreement with Heriot-Watt, our students will identify potentially suitable clinical problems and work with engineering students at Heriot-Watt to design solutions to real-life clinical problems. It is hugely exciting.”

Maïwenn Kersaudy-Kerhoas is a professor in microfluidic engineering at Heriot-Watt, and the lead academic for the university’s new global research institute in health and care technologies. She said: “It has already proved to be a fantastic and fun learning experience for students from both the nursing and engineering programmes.

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“This collaboration will ensure an excellent student experience and we are very enthusiastic about the interface between nursing and engineering. Nurses are the closest to patient needs on a daily basis, by championing this first-hand knowledge and expertise, we enable nurses to co-create and help deliver innovation.

“Alongside this, our engineering students benefit from detailed real-world feedback on their health and care engineering concepts. The professional advice of nursing practitioners and their network of patient engagement opportunities is invaluable as we continue to create the health and care technologies needed for the future.”