I use my academic background from IT Product Design when technology needs to make sense for people

"I work as a consultant in the Municipality of Odense in the unit for digitalisation and welfare technology within the Department of Health, Care and Prevention. My work is less about developing new technology and much more about implementing, supporting, and assessing whether technologies create value in practice – for both citizens and employees.

I spend a large part of my time on screen-based visits, where nurses and social and healthcare staff contact citizens via video instead of making physical visits. Here, I support the team technically and often act as a link between operations and IT when issues arise. It is about being able to translate challenges, so they are understandable across professional disciplines.

I have also been the project manager on a project involving circadian lighting, where we implemented lighting that follows the sun’s rise and set at two departments in two different institutions. This involved timelines, risk assessments, procurement, and coordination with suppliers, electricians, and the municipality’s building management department, as well as a final evaluation, which I was responsible for myself. In addition, we are currently testing virtual reality as a pedagogical tool for citizens with social challenges. We are now examining how employees and citizens experience technology and whether it can make a positive contribution.

One of the most important things I have taken with me from IT Product Design is the understanding of the relationship between people and technology. I particularly remember a case about a blood sampling robot that no one dared to use because there was no human presence around it. I still use that story as a reference. Technology can be very smart, but if users do not trust it, it does not work.”