Institutions
Henallux - FoRS
The Namur-Liège-Luxembourg University College (Hénallux) is a French speaking university college, in Belgium. Hénallux counts around 5900 students spread on ten campuses, in the Provinces of Namur, Liège and Luxembourg and supervised by 886 members of staff. Hénallux proposes a very dense range of training in higher education, 31 Bachelor and 14 Master levels, several one-year programs of specialization and 145 in-service training sessions.
The Department of Health care has a bachelor nursing program (240 ECTS) and midwive programme (240 ECTS), as well as a master in nursing sciences (120ECTS). It includes over 587 nursing students and 155 staff members. It is optimally located near the centre of Namur, in order to collaborate with the regional health care providers, among which hospitals. The level of contents evolves from introductory over in-depth to specialized. More than half of the study programme is filled with internships, both national and international. All courses are in French. Hénallux focuses on social and cultural development and lifelong learning through offering a wide range of professional programmes with an international dimension, such as the Erasmus programmes .
The FORS Research center is the research center of the university college. It is actively exploring how they can provide a return for society by creating projects with students, teachers as well as researchers both on a regional, national and an international level. FORS invests in strategic partnerships with regional and international organizations and companies and other higher education institutions.
Resspir
The RESSPIR international network “Health, Care and Spirituality”, was founded in 2016, within the Research Institute for Religions, Spiritualities, Cultures and Societies (RSCS) of the Catholic University of Louvain (UCLouvain) in Belgium.
RESSPIR aims to develop a better understanding, recognition and integration of spiritual care in health settings. For 10 years we have been developing expertise in the field of spiritual care, with an ever-increasing focus on the dynamics of implementing spiritual care, in teaching and clinical practice.
This aim is completed in three main domains: teaching, research and clinical expertise.
The network is French-speaking, interdisciplinary. Our target audience are: healthcare professionnals, healthcare teachers and trainers, spiritual care professionals and researchers.
Our main objectives are to : support training in spiritual care, encourage the sharing of practices that integrate spirituality concerns, encourage researches and the transfer of research data to clinical and teaching settings.
The network works actively with 19 institutional partners: 7 Universities, 5 Clinical settings- Hospitals, 1 Healthcare Network, 1 Federation of Social and Health Institution, 4 Nursing Schools, 1 spiritual/pastoral care association), from Belgium, France, Canada, Germany, Lebanon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Switzerland. We develop collaborative research and training projects, implementation projects, as well as networking, dissemination of tools and informations.
CESPU
CESPU is the largest higher education institution teaching Health in Portugal, founded in 1982; is a non-profit institution which oversees the administration of several establishments of higher education in the region of North Portugal; committed to education and research in Health Sciences through both a university institute and a polytechnic institute. These institutes collaborate in an interdisciplinary manner based on academic and research interests. Currently, CESPU enrolls over 3700 students, with up to 50% being international. Currently CESPU has around 3800 full time students (35% foreign), and more than 400 teaching staff members and 150 non-teaching staff members. The professionals who make part of CESPU team focus their activity on the specific training and employability of students and this is actually the focal point of the institutional mission and strategy, in order to provide high quality education as well as offer students future employment opportunities. CESPU is particularly concerned with student’s practical training in a real work environment context, allowing at an early stage, a direct contact with the hospitals and with the reality that they will face in their professional careers. One of the Higher School is the ESCOLA SUPERIOR DE ENFERMAGEM DO TÂMEGA E SOUSA, IPS-CESPU, is our nursing school that will be directly targeted by the project’s activities. It provides undergraduate and postgraduate programs in nursing education
Scientific research has also been one of the main objectives since its foundation and, despite being a private cooperative without public funding, IPSN-CESPU integrates 3 research units. Among others, the Research Unit for Innovation in Health and Well being, (Health 4 Well being) is a research unit that carries out scientific, technological development and community outreach activities whose mission is to promote the development and differentiation of research activities, innovation in health, physical and mental health and wellbeing. It will directly contribute to the project’s activities.
WSZ
The University of Management in Częstochowa (WSZ) is a higher education institution established in 1995. It offers programs in nursing and emergency medical services, as well as various postgraduate studies, including management and pedagogy. For the past 20 years, WSZ has been providing high-quality education in nursing at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. It is the first university in Częstochowa to offer specialized training for nurses. The quality of education at the university is highly regarded and has received approval from the Polish Accreditation Committee and the National Accreditation Council for Schools of Nursing and Midwifery.
The university’s infrastructure supports the development of practical skills through laboratory rooms that are equipped with modern equipment and a growing simulation center. Along with a comprehensive internship program, this environment enables graduates to build their professional careers in alignment with the demands of the labor market in the health sector.
In the context of the Erasmus+ accreditation, we collaborate with six other universities across Europe to facilitate student and staff mobility.
The nursing department is deeply integrated into local and international communities. It often organizes events to promote education in health and other fields. We are fortunate to have academic teachers who are highly qualified and experienced medical doctors, nurses and paramedics. We organize various international conferences focused on health prevention for our students and medical staff. For example, we host the conference titled “Modern nursing – I know my competencies and I know how to use them.” Additionally, we have a series of conferences on “The Role of Medical Staff in Nursing and Educating Patients with Fabry’s Disease and Huntington’s Disease.”
UNILUX
The University of Luxembourg is a multingual, public research university founded in 2023.
The university offers seventeen bachelor’s degrees, forty-six master’s degrees, and doctorates. Bachelor’s degrees require a semester abroad. The university also offers sixteen vocational training and lifelong learning training courses.
The university is multilingual. Courses are generally taught in two languages, being French and English or French and German. Some courses are taught in three languages and some courses are taught entirely in English.
The university has three faculties, the Faculty of Science, Technology, and Medicine; the Faculty of Law, Economics, and Finance; and the Faculty of Humanities, Education, and Social Sciences, and three interdisciplinary centres, the Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust; the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine; and the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History. All the faculties offer baccalaureate, masters, doctoral, and vocational programs.
As of August 2023, the University of Luxembourg’s enrollment was 7000 students, 1000 doctoral candidates, 2,400 staff, 1,500 academic staff, and 293 professors.
In 2023, the university had 5,185 full-time equivalent students and a student–teacher ratio of 19.3.In 2023, 51% of students at the university were international students.
In 2021, U.S. News & World Report ranked the University of Luxembourg number 653 in Best Global Universities and number 227 in Best Global Universities in Europe.
The Times Higher Education World University Rankings ranked the University of Luxembourg 201–250 in their 2020 World University Rankings and 12 in their 2020 Young University Rankings.
In 2021, the Luxemburgish government gave the mandate to the University of Luxembourg to create, develop and implement 7 new Bachelors in Nursing Sciences, Midwifery and Radiology.
From those, 4 Bachelors started in September 2023 in Nursing Sciences: Specialities (Pediatric nursing, Psychiatric nursing, Anesthesia and resuscitation, Surgery).
The Spirit4Care team
Delphine Bourmorck (Henallux)
After completing a bachelor’s degree in nursing specialising in intensive care and emergency medical assistance, Delphine Bourmorck went on to complete a master’s degree in public health at UCLouvain. She then became involved in a research project evaluating mental health care at the Research Institute of Health and Society (IRSS), before embarking on her doctoral studies. Her doctoral thesis in public health sciences focused on the palliative approach to elderly people admitted to emergency departments. In addition to the skills she has acquired in project management and quantitative and qualitative methods, Delphine’s human qualities have been a real asset in (re)reconciling two worlds that at first appeared to be totally antinomic. Currently a research project manager at Henallux, Delphine also devotes her time to teaching and developing the Masters in Nursing.
Cécile Vander Meulen (Henallux)
is a nurse and psychologist. She worked for 10 years in a palliative care unit with patients at the end of life and their families. Now at Hénallux, she works as a teacher in palliative care, ethical issues and spiritual care. In this field, she has received and led 2 projects funded by the King Baudouin Foundation, a Belgian foundation: Spirit4Pal 1 and Spirit4Pal 2. The aim of these projects was to develop awareness of spiritual care for palliative patients at home, using the educational method of telesimulation and simulation. She also works as a clinical psychologist in a health centre, working with children (and their relatives) who are experiencing family difficulties.
Sara Lima (CESPU)
is the director of the Innovation in Health and Wellbeing unit, involved in the project. She has a degree in Clinical Psychology from the Instituto Superior de Ciências da Saúde do Norte, Portugal and a PhD in Applied Psychology from the University of Minho, Portugal. She is a lecturer at CESPU, Cooperative for Higher Education, Polytechnic, and University in the areas of health psychology, mental health, and applied psychology. She is the director of the Innovation for Health and Well-being Research Unit. Possessing solid knowledge, training, and extensive experience in the field of health, well-being, and quality of life, especially in clinical and geriatric contexts. She has been leading and participating in various research projects, with a focus on topics such as spirituality, quality of life, and well-being in different population groups, as well as understanding the factors influencing the quality of life in diverse populations. She is the author of several works in the field of geriatric and dementia care, chronic illness, mindfulness, social support, well-being promotion, quality of life, and spirituality. She worked as a clinical health psychologist in a hospital setting for 24 years.
Ana Isabel Teixeira (CESPU)
is a nurse since 2006 and specialist in mental health and psychiatric nursing since 2011. She has a professional experience in psychiatry and medical-surgical nursing. She holds a PhD in nursing sciences since 2021 from the University of Porto. She is currently a lecturer at CESPU, Cooperative for Higher Education, Polytechnic, and University at the Tâmega e Sousa Nursing School, IPSN-CESPU, Portugal. Her research areas of interest include clinical supervision in nursing, evidence-based practice, emotional competencies in nurses and informal caregivers of people with severe mental illness, and delirium in critically ill patients.
Maria do Rosário Bacalhau (IPOLFG)
is a highly accomplished professional with a diverse background in Applied Psychology, specializing in Clinical and Health Psychology. She holds a Doctorate in Applied Psychology from the University of Minho, as well as a Master’s degree in Psychology Psychotherapy and Health Psychology from the University of Lisbon. She is specialist in Clinical and Health Psychology since 1997, and worked since 1990 at Portuguese Institute of Oncology of Lisbon Francisco Gentil (IPOLFG) in Clinical Psychologist at Pain Clinic, Psychiatry Unit; Epilepsy Group Consultation; and Palliative Care Team. For 10 years, she was responsible for the training programme and trainer of Volunteers for the Portuguese League Against Cancer, Southern Regional Centre and Trainer of Social Security Volunteer trainers programme. In the past year, she has dedicated her efforts to the elaboration and teaching of the Continuous Training Program for health professionals. This reflects her commitment to nurturing the next generation of healthcare providers and ensuring the dissemination of knowledge in the field.
Serena Buchter (UCLouvain)
is a nurse with a master’s degree in public health from UCLouvain. Her doctoral research focused on the teaching of spiritual care in medicine and nursing at the University of Lausanne. She works for the international network for health, care and spirituality, housed at UCLouvain’s Religions, Spiritualities, Cultures and Societies (RSCS) research institute, where she has developed online training modules incorporating innovative pedagogies. She initiates and coordinates research, expertise and training projects on the theme of teaching spiritual care. She recently coordinated a research agenda project on spiritual care research priorities for nurses.
Marie Friedel (Resspir)
Prof. Dr Marie Friedel, Full professor in Nursing Science has developed an expertise in quality-of-life research, nursing education including spiritual care education.
She is an active member of the international research group at Réseau recherche soins et spiritualités (RESSPIR) based at Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium.
Her research methods are based on a strong collaborative approach with the main stakeholders. She has skills in mixed-methods research designs.
She has been teaching nursing students for more than 20 years.
She developed, implemented and coordinated an interdisciplinary education curriculum for nurses, physicians and psychologists in pediatric palliative care.
Afi Agboli (UNILUX)
Dr Afi Agboli is BSc holder in nursing, a Master and a PhD in Public health. She is now a post-doctoral fellow at the Department of Life Science, Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine at University of Luxembourg. She is skilled in conducting qualitative study designs (especially life story approach and Ground Theory). Her previous research has focused on gender-based violence, FGM, trauma events and now she is working on a research project which includes post-traumatic/existential growth among bereaved parents and nurses.
Małgorzata Gawrońska (WSZ)
Małgorzata Gawrońska holds a master’s degree in English Philology. Since 2022, she has been working at WSZ as an international coordinator and English lecturer. In her professional life, she combines her passion for languages and translation with international cooperation and healthcare. Her dedication to working with people is reflected not only in her teaching but also in her commitment to collaborative projects aimed at improving healthcare and community well-being.
Joanna Wojtyra (WSZ)
Joanna Wojtyra holds a PhD in social sciences and is an engineer with a specialization in management and quality sciences. She is currently the rector of the University of Management in Częstochowa. Joanna has extensive experience in implementing projects that are co-financed by the European Union. Her notable projects include the supervision of “Education for the Needs of the Economy in the Field of Nursing (First and Second Degree)”, “Accessibility of WSZ in Częstochowa”, serving as the manager for the “Multimedia Teacher” project, and acting as the HR coordinator for the “Engineer – Practical Profession” project.
She has served as a coordinator for the Erasmus+ program at a university and was part of the team that developed the Polish language version of the international EUROMOBIL 2 project under the SOKRATES/LINGUA program. She is the originator and implementer of an international scientific project titled “Improvement of the Communication Process in Health Care Institutions,” which involved research in selected medical facilities in Lithuania and Poland. This project, carried out in 2021, aimed to evaluate communication practices and recommend improvements based on the findings.
She is the organizer and originator of the international BIP project entitled “Healthy Work of the Future” implemented in May 2024 (partners from Lithuania and Turkey). She supervises the implementation of international projects entitled: “Spirit4Care”, which aims to support the teaching of holistic patient care (partners from Belgium, Luxembourg and Portugal – project in progress) and “Happy City”, concerning the development of the project’s partner cities (partners from Turkey and France – project in progress).
She is a member of a research group focused on “Responsible Consumption from the Perspective of Lithuanian and Polish Academic Youth,” with ongoing partnerships in Lithuania. Additionally, she is a co-organizer of the social campaign “Knowledge Saves Lives,” which promotes a healthy lifestyle through lectures on communication and quality. She also co-organizes national and international conferences in the fields of social sciences and health sciences. Furthermore, she was a Guest of Honor at the ICANAS 2024 International Scientific Conference in Turkey.
Bożena Boborowska (WSZ)
Bożena Boborowska, MSc in Nursing, is a graduate of the University of Management in Częstochowa and has been collaborating with the university since 2018. She is a specialist in long-term care nursing, possessing many years of experience in the field. Bożena has participated in numerous training courses related to specialist nursing.
For several years, she has been teaching Nursing students in subjects including the fundamentals of nursing, internal medicine, and long-term nursing care. Since 2022, she has served as the Coordinator for practical classes and internships at the university. Additionally, she has been the Supervisor of the Nursing Student Research Group at the University of Management in Częstochowa since 2019. Bożena is also a co-organizer of scientific and training conferences at the university.
Since 2018, she has been a member of the project team involved in a collaboration between the University of Management in Częstochowa and the University of Applied Sciences. From March 2018 to June 2020, they implemented an international scientific project titled “Improving the Communication Process in Healthcare Institutions: Lithuanian and Polish Examples.” The project’s goal was to research the quality of communication in selected medical facilities, assess the findings, and recommend improvements to enhance communication between patients and staff, as well as among the employees of the facilities.
The results of this study were presented at the III International Scientific Conference on the Process of Communication and Its Importance in Modern Society for Medical Staff, held in Częstochowa on November 16, 2019. The findings were also published in the Scientific Journals of the Higher School of Medicine.
She has worked for over four decades at the Provincial Specialist Hospital in Częstochowa as a nurse in both the Cardiac Rehabilitation Department and the Internal Medicine Department. Additionally, she has provided nursing and care services as part of long-term home care.
Her teaching has received high ratings from students in surveys regarding the quality of education at WSZ. She focuses on educating students about holistic nursing care, particularly related to the issues she encounters in her practice.