Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Visit – St Rochs Secondary School
School: St Rochs Secondary School
Type of activity: Living Labs Visit
Name of employer: NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde
Case Study
Ten 5th year pupils took part in an educational visit to a Living Lab at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. The visit aimed to introduce young learners to real-world healthcare innovation, demonstrate how technology is improving patient care, and inspire interest in careers in science, healthcare, and engineering.
The Living Lab environment is designed as a collaborative space where researchers, clinicians, technology developers, can test and evaluate new healthcare solutions in realistic settings. During the visit, pupils were given an overview of how hospitals and universities work together to develop and trial new medical technologies before they are adopted into everyday clinical practice.
The session began with an interactive presentation from healthcare professionals who explained how modern hospitals are becoming centres of innovation. Pupils learned about the challenges faced by healthcare professionals, such as improving patient monitoring, reducing waiting times, and enhancing communication between medical teams. The pupils also learned how Living Labs allow these challenges to be explored through experimentation, feedback, and collaboration with real users.
One of the key elements of the visit was encouraging pupils to think creatively about healthcare problems. Working in small groups, they were asked to design simple concepts for future healthcare technologies that could support patients or hospital staff. This exercise promoted teamwork, problem-solving, and innovation while allowing pupils to experience the type of collaborative thinking used in real research environments.
All of the pupils expressed surprise at the wide range of careers involved in healthcare innovation, including roles in software development, biomedical engineering, data science, and clinical research. As well as the many other career opportunities within healthcare.
By opening their doors to schools, facilities such as those at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital can inspire the next generation of innovators while helping young people understand how interdisciplinary collaboration drives improvements in healthcare.
Overall, the experience provided pupils with a unique opportunity to explore how ideas move from concept to real-world medical solutions, reinforcing the importance of curiosity, creativity, and collaboration in shaping the future of healthcare.
Objectives:
- To raise awareness of the STEM opportunities and wide range of careers within our healthcare system.
Results/Outcomes:
- Pupils left with a better understanding of life sciences and technology and how these subjects fit into medical science and preventative medicine.
Benefits:
- Clear understanding of routes and pathways in to the wide variety of careers within healthcare and engineering.
Testimonials:
Pupil 1 – “I really enjoyed my visit and was very surprised at how many different opportunities were available in healthcare.”
Pupils 2 – “The visit has made me consider a career in research. Without the labs and the scientists that do the research there would be no cures found for illnesses such as COVID-19. I loved the fact that the lab we were in was used for PCR testing during the pandemic.”
Pupil 3 – “I really enjoyed all aspects of our visit, especially having the opportunity to carry out a mock PCR test.”
Pupil 4 – “I felt very privileged visiting the 7T MRI scanner which is the only one in Scotland and the most powerful. The activity trying to read the scan images was fun too.”
