DISCERN-DSS Kickoff Meeting Marks UGM’s First Step in Advancing Digital Soft Skills Education

Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) took part in the DISCERN-DSS kickoff meeting held in Belgium in February 2025. The meeting marked the beginning of a collaborative international project designed to strengthen digital soft skills education in Indonesian health higher education institutions.

Representing UGM, Prof. Lutfan Lazuardi and Wika Hartanti joined partners from Indonesia and Europe to discuss the direction, implementation plan, and expected contribution of the project. UGM’s participation reflects the university’s commitment to supporting innovation in health professions education, particularly in response to the growing role of digital technology in healthcare.

DISCERN-DSS, or Digitally enhanced Scenario-Based Learning for Digital Soft Skills, is an Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education project. The project brings together Indonesian universities and European institutions to develop learning approaches that help students build digital soft skills through co-creation, digital scenarios, and Digital Scenario-Based Learning (D-SBL).

The kickoff meeting provided an important space for partners to align their understanding of the project’s goals and implementation strategy. Discussions covered institutional roles, work package coordination, training activities, curriculum mapping, project management, and the development of digital learning resources for health education.

For UGM, DISCERN-DSS is closely aligned with the need to prepare future health professionals who are able to work effectively in digitally transformed healthcare systems. Beyond technical ability, students need to develop communication, collaboration, ethical reasoning, adaptability, professionalism, and decision-making skills when using digital health tools and services.

Through Digital Scenario-Based Learning, students will be introduced to realistic situations related to digital medicine, telemedicine, and technology-supported healthcare. This approach allows learners to explore complex problems, make choices, receive feedback, and reflect on their decisions in a safe educational environment.

The project also strengthens UGM’s collaboration with other Indonesian partner universities, including Universitas Sebelas Maret and Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, as well as European partners with expertise in medical education, digital learning, and professional development. This partnership is expected to support the development of learning resources that are both internationally informed and relevant to the Indonesian context.

Following the kickoff meeting, UGM will continue to contribute to the next stages of DISCERN-DSS through training preparation, curriculum review, local coordination, and the co-creation of D-SBL resources. These activities will support the broader transformation of digital soft skills education in Indonesia.

UGM’s involvement in the DISCERN-DSS kickoff meeting represents an important first step in building institutional capacity for future-ready health education. Through this project, UGM aims to contribute to the development of health graduates who are digitally competent, ethically grounded, adaptive, and prepared to face the challenges of modern healthcare.