The E+DIETing_LAB project, finalist of the ACEEU The Triple E Awards

The Erasmus Plus project E+DIETing_LAB (2022-2025), led by the Universidad Europea del Atlántico (European University of the Atlantic, UNEATLANTICO), has been selected as one of the finalists of The Triple E awards of the international organization Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities (ACEEU) in the EDI Community Engagement Initiative of the Year Award category.

The awards ceremony will be held at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Portugal) between September 18 and 20. The event aims to honor excellence in entrepreneurship and commitment in higher education.

“We have selected over 50 incredible nominations for this year’s Triple E Awards, and we want to place special emphasis on showcasing the remarkable people and inspiring work behind each nomination. Let’s share and celebrate Europe and Africa’s leaders and frontrunners in entrepreneurship and engagement,” said the organizing committee.

The project will compete in the EDI Community Engagement Initiative of the Year Award category, which focuses on initiatives that have opted for less conventional practices, leading to extraordinary results for the community at large, especially in terms of social impact. This initiative distinguishes itself by addressing a difficult problem that hitherto lacked an effective solution or by demonstrating scalability that leads to widespread and far-reaching impact. The award celebrates innovative approaches that contribute significantly to community well-being, highlighting initiatives that have not only identified and addressed critical social problems, but have also set new benchmarks in community engagement and social responsibility.

Those interested in voting for the project can access the following link. The voter must enter an e-mail address in the voting field. After clicking on the “vote” button, an e-mail with a link will be sent to the voter. The vote will only be counted if it is confirmed by clicking on this web link.

Those who wish to support the candidacy, may also interact in the publications that are disclosed in the social networks of UNEATLANTICO, through likes, shares and / or reposts on LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.  In the social network X they can contribute through retweets, likes or even creating their own post by adding the following hashtags: #ACEEU_Awards and #2024Entry1004.

Together with UNEATLANTICO, the following European institutions also participate in the E+DIETing_LAB project: the University of Valladolid (UVA) in Spain, St. Pölten University in Austria, the University of Porto (U.Porto) in Portugal, AP Hogeschool Antwerpen in Belgium and Jan Kochanowski University (UJK) in Poland.

During the course of the project, the partners have developed a virtual patient, a platform that integrates five different bots available in five languages. The bot teaches the nutrition and dietetics student to perform a clinical screening process in an online/interactive manner. These bots provide the following cases: Gastroenterology, Diabetes mellitus type 1, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, obesity and kidney disease. Each bot has a questionnaire related to the field of nutrition, and a final survey to know the user experience.

A virtual clinic is also being tested, with training focused on the Nutritional Care Process (PAN) and community service. By video call, interested people can receive free dietary advice and recommendations on how to improve their diet, under the supervision of a teacher. In this result, the project also introduces several innovations through two key technological elements: service learning and Artificial Intelligence.

In the coming months the partners will develop a toolkit report for other healthcare institutions and services to adopt the virtual patient self-learning platform and virtual clinic. This toolkit will include a guide for educators and trainers on the use of the platforms, a curriculum for the integration of the tools into dietetic education programs, and recommendations on dietitian professionalism for policy makers outside of education.

The E+DIETing_LAB project is funded by the Spanish Service for the Internationalization of Education (SEPIE, Spanish Agency of the European Program Erasmus +).

Those interested in obtaining more information about this project can consult its website or its social networks.