Inspiring the med-tech developers of the future

Posted on 22 June 2021

The University of York and York Hospital are collaborating with academics and industry partners to offer local sixth form students the opportunity to discover more about the fascinating world of computing and its applications in real world settings during a summer school taking place this July.

Dr Ibrahim Habli of the Department of Computer Science at the University of York and Dr Paul Laboi, renal physician at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust, have teamed up to organise a virtual summer programme for Year 12 students at York state schools.

“We’re delighted to work with such great partners to offer this summer programme. The developments in healthcare technology in recent years have been exceptional. We have seen artificial intelligence (AI) used in a series of tools and systems, and students considering a career in IT need to be aware of the developments and opportunities in this exciting field,” said Dr Habli. “The University of York leads the way with research into the safety of such technologies through the work of the Assuring Autonomy International Programme and we’re very pleased to be able to offer students an insight into what we, and others in the field, are working on.”

The programme mixes theoretical and practical applications of computer science in medicine in particular, offering students a chance to learn about the fundamentals of IT in healthcare, team working, how to put humans at the centre of the development process, as well as considering the ethical and social implications of the use of AI in healthcare.

“Modern technology is hugely inter-linked with medicine. To inspire the interest of tomorrow’s leaders in IT we need to be able to show them what opportunities exist. This is the first summer school we have developed and it follows a successful programme that we already run for students interested in studying medicine. We are very keen to develop local students and are delighted to work with such great partners in order to do this,” said Dr Laboi.

The summer school has recruited 12 local Year 12 students to attend the online summer school in July.