WUAS Project Week from the Perspective of Cha-Hsuan Liu

24.01.2023

Wittenborg's Project Week SDG#3, 2022, on Good Health & Well-being concluded one month ago, so it is a good time for all participants to look back on these inspiring three days of lectures, workshops and a fantastic finale. WUAS Associate Professor Dr. Cha-Hsuan Liu gave two lectures during the project week. Both dealt with the world's major challenges facing physical and mental health, such as depression, obesity, climate change and poverty. How does she look back on the project week?

"Actually, it's more than I expected," Liu says. "In the beginning, I just thought we would get together and the students would just work on their projects. But the whole project week is so creatively organised." She was excited about the chosen topic of health and well-being and says it allowed students to learn a lot on multiple levels. "I think it's a good incentive for the students. Not only to stimulate their project, but also to encourage them to think about their current lifestyle and decide if it is healthy enough. Sometimes, when we focus on our studies or focus on our work, we forget the importance of a good lifestyle to support our health." She sees that her approach of giving students a lecture on what the United Nations lists as key health issues and asking what students can do to improve their health is successful: "Sometimes students come to see me privately and ask me for tips on what they can do to reduce stress and eat healthier. When students ask that question to me or to each other, it's a sign that they are starting to think about how to take better care of themselves."

Liu emphasises that as a lecturer, it is not a one-way street when it comes to inspiring others. She too gets inspired by her students, "It is meaningful and insightful to see their enthusiasm and the solutions they bring to important health issues. Students come from different countries with different health problems, and they use the knowledge they gain at Wittenborg to think about how to help their local communities." She says the project week was a great success because it shows the impact that collaboration between teachers, supervisors, school and students can have on improving health in society.