I am involved in an ongoing research project across the Nordic countries to investigate the capabilities of Healthcare Information Management Executives for successful Health Information Technology implementation. I was interested in understanding the healthcare management system of Denmark as part of this research, and extending my existing contacts in Denmark for future collaborations. In July 2013 I found the Mobility DK program and I am thankful to have been given the opportunity to participate in it.
The first stop of my two-week journey was the department of Computer Science, Aalborg University. My host, Professor Peter Axel Nielsen, introduced me to an expert on the management of healthcare organization in Aalborg. I expect to continue discussions with her to understand better the Danish healthcare management. After staying in Aalborg for six days, I traveled to Copenhagen and met a colleague who is currently working for a global consulting firm based in Copenhagen. This allowed me to learn about the issues that Danish information technology consultants are focusing on.
My next stop was a brief visit to Norway. I presented the recent research results of our Nordic team, which had been prepared together with colleagues in the Copenhagen Business School as well as Norway and Sweden. This presentation took place in Grimstad, Norway, in the Scandinavian Conference on Health Informatics. I also had an opportunity to listen to the presentations of the health informatics research group of Aalborg University at this conference. Then, I returned to Copenhagen to complete the last part of my research exchange.
Returning to Copenhagen, I had a discussion with a Dutch professor who is working in Copenhagen University. On the last day, just a few hours before getting on the plane to return to Finland, I visited the Copenhagen Business School to meet two professors, one of whom is my current collaborator. We planned on how to develop our research project further by expanding the research efforts in Denmark. We also planned that the results of future research would be presented in Denmark.
It was an intensive and challenging schedule to move between three countries and five cities in two weeks. However, I was able to broaden my knowledge about the healthcare management and Health Information Technology in Denmark. This knowledge will help me to design the next stage of our research in Nordic countries. Furthermore, I was able to meet Professor Peter Axel Nielsen and others to expand the future efforts.
Apart from research, I was fascinated to see everyday life in Denmark, which has been nominated as the happiest country in the world. I was also able to learn about history of Denmark at the National Museum and other places such as the Lindholms Hoje, an ancient burial ground for the Vikings. Moreover, I could see the vigour of international modern life in Denmark. All these experiences left a very positive image of Denmark in my mind. I have motivation to return not only because of the cooperation research plan to conduct our join research in Denmark but also because of the beauty and unique culture of Denmark, and some good friends that I met on this exchange program.