The eSleep_dHealth project objectives are: • O1 Strengthen collaboration among the project partners – E.C.H.R. d.o.o. (NetHub), University of Split (UNIST), Reykjavik University (RU), University of Crete (UOC), and Mediterranean Economic Foresight Institute (IPEMED) – through the development of joint training programme. • O2 Develop teaching staff and student competencies in open pedagogy and design thinking for curriculum and content design. • O3 Enhance the capacity of universities to foster social innovation competencies among students and staff. • O4 Train students of medical and engineering professions to become drivers of social innovation to reduce prevalent harsh consequences of sleep disorders. • O5 Contribute to reducing the digital divide affecting older adults and populations in remote areas. • O6 Establish the foundation for a joint master’s programme on sleep medicine, digital health, and entrepreneurship across the partner universities.
The eSleep_dHealth project was initiated to address the growing challenges related to sleep disorders and the rapid digital transformation of healthcare. Although digital tools offer new possibilities for diagnosing and managing conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), these advances are not equally accessible to all. Vulnerable groups – particularly the older adults – often lack digital literacy, limiting their access to digital health solutions. At the same time, partner universities lacked applied sleep medicine and digital health content in their curricula, as well as opportunities for students to develop innovation, entrepreneurship, and social problem-solving skills. Teaching staff had limited experience in applying methodologies, such as open pedagogy and design thinking, for the development of new educational programmes. To address these gaps, the project partners project jointly developed a new training programme consisting of curriculum, Open Educational Resources (OERs) and a Joint Social Innovation Incubator. This integrated structure enabled students to acquire essential knowledge and apply it in practice by working with real-world data and collaborating directly with vulnerable groups.