Clients demand high quality services tailored to their individual needs. Throughout Europe, this emphasis on quality care leads, to an urgent need for occupational therapists who are able to evaluate, justify and innovate their practice. And with the rising average age, numbers of disabled persons and those with chronic conditions, there is a need for highly qualified therapists who are better equipped to deal innovatively with complex situations in legislation and organisations health anmd well fare.
The European Union (EU) acknowledges the need for more equity of provision for disabled people. The ongoing unification of Europe provides an ideal laboratory for the development of occupational therapy theories, because similarities and differences between cultures facilitate the study of effects of the environment in the shaping of human beings' occupational lifestyle.
In addition to these developments the European Ministers of Education have agreed to harmonise higher education in Europe (e.g. Bologna Declaration) and promote the international exchange of knowledge, students and teachers.
These developments fostered the European Master of Science in Occupational Therapy. The idea of establishing co-operation between European occupational therapy schools evolved through the experience of exchange programmes between the Occupational Therapy departments of schools in Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden. The concept was discussed and supported by ENOTHE, the European Network of Occupational Therapy in Higher Education.
The programme has been accredited by the NVAO in 2004 and 2010 (Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders) following validation by an international committee of renowned experts.
New the accreditation decision and the assessment report can be found here.
In 2006 the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science acknowledged the programme as a full Master of Science programme by registering it under CROHO number 69312.
The accreditation report stated that:
'The assessment was carried out in a comparative international perspective.'
'The programme is very inventive and innovative in trying to integrate a developmental framework of testing and assigning students.'
'The course can rightly be referred to as an 'university' course, as a result both of the proven research qualities of the staff concerned, the manner in which research results and methods are reflected in the course, and the specific training in research and research methods.'
staff members celebrating accreditation
