Student modeling & simulation projects in healthcare: Experiences with Hillingdon Hospital

This paper describes experiences in the first year of running final year Modeling & Simulation (M&S) undergraduate projects with The Hillingdon Hospitals, a large UK National Health Service (NHS) Hospital Trust. Our approach used project- and problem-based learning in a group context with emphasis on the student´s responsibility for the execution of their project. As part of their B.Sc. (HONS) Business Computing course, the students had taken a module on Business Process Modeling and Simulation during their second year. The student group was supported by two facilitators with help from two simulation researchers. Each student worked with a stakeholder in a variety of clinical service settings to create conceptual models, business process models and discrete-event simulations. The projects helped stakeholders to reflect on how their services might be improved, highlighted new areas of investigation, raised awareness of M&S at Hillingdon Hospital and equipped students with real-world M&S skills and experience.