E-Lab GGzE

This tweet immediately caught our attention. A student from Fontys Hogeschool ICT had an interesting internship assignment and now she's got a challenging job in the E-Lab at the GGzE (Geestelijke Gezondheidszorg Eindhoven, Mental Healthcare)? We wanted to find out more! Alumnus Roy Derks was also involved in this project. Naturally we want to know all the ins and outs from these alumni about their internship assignments and job at the GGzE.

Lisanne van der Schalie (22 years old) lives in Eindhoven. She graduated almost a year ago as an ICT & Software Engineer. "I love to be creative and to actually do something that has real-world implications." Roy Derks (24 years old) lives in Diessen and also is an ICT & Software Engineer. Both have completed their final internships at theGGzE. Successfully Both Roy and Lisanne now work in the E-Lab.

"During my final internship I developed a kind of App Store for the GGzE: The Toolbox. In this Toolbox we will put all the applications that we have developed ourselves, but there are also apps in it that come from the App Store. This way both clients and therapists have a clear overview of all the apps that are available for their treatments. Next to that, it's got a functionality that allows you to mark certain people as experts. Therapists can contact this expert to ask for more information about the application. For instance to ask how a certain app works, or how it can be used in a treatment", says Lisanne. "I also did my previous internship at GGzE and that worked out really well. During that internship I developed a kinect solution for kids and youngsters. Everything was done in cooperation with therapists. Kids can practise their posture and a computer will provide them with feedback, for instance on how they could improve their standing posture. This is way less confronting for children and moreover, it's way more fun because of the interaction".

I like to help people

"Making something that can actually be of help to people really appeals to me, unlike for instance developing a game for when you're on the toilet", says Roy. "I developed an app that allows people who are in a mental hospital to see what kind of relationships they came into contact with. It provides a kind of insight. Maybe I have to start hanging out less with him or her, so I would use less drugs, for instance. This way clients can take charge of their treatments more easily. You develop this app together with the therapist, it's not meant to be commercial. Lots of contact with the clients, you really feel like you're doing something useful. A great combination of ICT and healthcare!"

Challenging job in E-lab

"We now both work in the E-lab, an innovation department of the GGzE. Therapists often go there to discuss what a project should look like. We often attend those meetings in order to see how we could translate that into the technical side of things". Roy and Lisanne also have a lot of contact with the other GGZ institutions in the E-lab.

An internship at GGzE

"Doing an internship is quite exciting in the beginning" says Lisanne. "It is a lot of fun though, your ideas really get applied in reality, which is a huge motivation to come up with the best you possibly can." "I really enjoyed the internship but writing the thesis was less fun. In my case it mainly came down to working at the GGzE and writing the thesis in my spare time, mostly the evenings", says Roy. "I would highly recommend doing an internship at the GGzE. They really focus on your personal development, you get to go to congresses and you have to do presentations. You have to be good at programming though, and you need to be able to stand on your own two feet. It's a really good working atmosphere and you also learn a lot from other trainees".

Do you have any tips for other graduating students? "Yeah, come take a look at the E-lab!" And Roy adds to that: "Start with your thesis in time, you're given a lot of freedom, so you have to apply some structure to the chaos yourself."

And that worked very well for Roy and Lisanne: Lisanne graduated (cum laude) with an 8 and Roy with a 9. We're proud of our graduates!