Education, research and innovation come together around the themes of health, social work and sport in a new building whose construction work was officially opened in the presence of the authorities. In the future, the health campus will combine the competencies of the HES-SO Valais-Wallis, the EPFL, the The Ark Foundation, the Valais Health Observatory and the SpArk Center of Excellence for Movement Sciences and Technologies. The proximity to the Valais hospital and the Suva rehabilitation clinic in western Switzerland creates synergies and enables the development of interdisciplinary training and research. The project, which is estimated at 96.6 million francs, is supported by the canton of Valais with 72.5 million francs.
The health campus combines training activities in the field of health and social work as well as research and innovation in the fields of health and sport in one place. It bundles the competencies of the University of Health (FH degree course in nursing and research institute) and the University and Higher Technical School for Social Work (HF degree courses in childhood education and occupational management) of the HES-SO Valais-Wallis, the EPFL, the Valais Health Observatory (WGO ), The Ark Foundation and SpArk, a center of excellence in human movement science and technology.
Optimization of the utilization of the training infrastructure
The French-speaking Switzerland rehabilitation clinic (CRR-SUVA) currently houses a chair at the Sion site from the Life Sciences Faculty of the EPFL, specializing in neuroscience, and a laboratory designed for the field of motor rehabilitation. Several start-ups active in the field of digital health and supported by The Ark Foundation are also located on the premises. The health campus not only brings together areas of knowledge, but also strengthens the synergies between the various players in the health competence center, thereby promoting knowledge transfer, research and innovation. Due to its close proximity to the Wallis Hospital and the CRR-SUVA, the health campus offers ideal framework conditions for strengthening the interdisciplinary approach of training and research. The synergy between education and medical practice is helping to shape a new generation of highly competent and innovative healthcare professionals and addressing the nursing staff shortage.
The health campus also makes it possible to optimize the utilization of the training infrastructure (classrooms, lecture halls, simulation center, practice laboratories, etc.), to concentrate the supporting structures (media library, crèche, etc.), to generate ideas and to have direct access to patients for certain training and research activities.
The premises of the health campus house:
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing
- the R&D Institute of the School of Health and its research units
- post-graduate training (CAS/DAS) at the University of Health
- the specialized baccalaureate in health and the additional health modules (FMGe and ZMGe);
- the HF training courses in childhood education and work management at the university and higher technical school for social work
- the incubator The Ark
- the Valais Health Observatory
- EPFL researchers and their projects in the health sector
Spark.
More than 17,000 m2 of floor space
The health campus extends over 17,114 m2 of floor space, of which 12,125 m2 for the HES-SO Valais-Wallis, 2,695 m2 for SpArk, 1,131 m2 for The Ark Foundation, 873 m2 for the EPFL and 290 m2 for the Valais Health Observatory. The property loans approved by the Valais Parliament amount to CHF 85.9 million.
By creating a campus on the premises of the Health Competence Center, which complements the Engineering Competence Center near the train station (Campus Energypolis), the partners involved will strengthen their long-term positions in cutting-edge areas that create innovations and jobs with high added value in the health sector.
Source: Canton du Valais, Aug 29, 2023