Occupational Therapy AUTUMN

Exchange courses in Occupational Therapy

A programme for international exchange students who have obtained at least 120 ECTS in Occupational Therapy, on bachelor level. The language of communication is English.

Before arrival students of the department PXL-Healthcare have to submit

• a report in English of their blood sample results stating that the student is immune to Hepatitis A and B
• a recent negative result for the intradermal Tuberculosis control. If necessary, a TB-control will be done in Hasselt upon arrival.

All healthcare students will have a general health check before starting the placement.

AUTUMN 2026

Language courses 

*This course unit is obligatory for all students (autumn).

** Organised from 31/08/2026 until 04/09/2026 + evening seminars throughout the 1st semester

Course content 

For official course catalogue information check the course catalogue: Course Catalogue 2026-2027 (available from june 2026).

Below you can find a description of the course contents.

The Internationalist

This course welcomes incoming students as well as those preparing for an internship or study abroad. Over the span of several weeks, we meet to strengthen our intercultural awareness, intercultural competence, and overall critical-thinking abilities. Through a variety of interactive teaching methods, we create a dynamic learning environment that builds on the intercultural experiences and skills students already possess. 

Three guiding principles shape the entire learning process.

• The first is critical thinking, encouraging students to question assumptions, analyse multiple perspectives, and reflect on their own interpretative frameworks.
• The second is the ethics-of-care principle, emphasizing that good care (care that is restorative and meaningful) is fundamentally relational. Students explore how attentive, compassionate connection forms the basis of professional practice.
• The third principle, Think Global, Act Local, invites students to link global issues of diversity and inequality to concrete situations in clinical practice, integrating multi-perspectivity into their daily professional decision-making. 

The course is offered in an interprofessional context, bringing together students from Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Midwifery, and Creative Therapy. This interdisciplinary setting enriches dialogue, supports collaboration across professional identities, and highlights the diverse realities of caregiving in contemporary practice. 

Throughout the course, students are encouraged to become aware of the many layers and dimensions of diversity in both domestic and international workplaces, to examine their own behaviour and understand the role of implicit bias, to question their personal value systems, and to develop communication skills for engaging with people from different cultural and social backgrounds. They are invited to initiate a lifelong process of learning and critical reflection. 

Students complete several individual and group assignments, including writing an academic paper, creating a short film, keeping a reflective diary, and delivering presentations. Together, these tasks support the integration of theoretical insight, practical application, and personal growth within an interprofessional, ethically grounded, and globally engaged learning trajectory. 

Sexual Health

This course explores the broad concept of sexual health and its overall impact on general well-being. In addition to the foundational principles of sexual health, the course places particular emphasis on challenges related to physical and intellectual disabilities, chronic or psychiatric illnesses, and major life events such as pregnancy and the postpartum period, divorce, or the loss of a partner. 

Teaching methods combine theoretical lectures with practical components, including clinical reasoning and communication exercises. The course is organized as an interprofessional intensive one-week Summer School in September, supplemented by evening seminars throughout the first semester, offering students an in-depth and comprehensive understanding of sexual health within diverse contexts. 

Outplacement: advanced 

This occupational therapy internship (8 weeks, approx. 30 hours/week) allows students to develop advanced professional competencies in real clinical settings. Students learn to design and deliver client‑centred occupational therapy interventions—planning, organizing, executing, and evaluating practice—using professional competency profiles and the ICF framework as guidance. 

The goal is for students to function with increasing professional independence by the end of the placement and to position themselves clearly within the health care and social welfare system of the host country. Throughout the internship, students work in authentic therapeutic environments and are supported by both an on‑site supervisor and a PXL supervisor. Strong emphasis is placed on integrating theory and practice through continuous reflection and structured reporting. 

Regular meetings with the PXL supervisor deepen the connection between practical experiences and theoretical foundations. 

Ethical and deontological issues that arise during the placement are discussed, enabling students to analyse problems critically, articulate them clearly, and formulate reasoned solutions. 

Outplacement: integration

This occupational therapy internship (10 weeks, approximately 30 hours per week) focuses on the full integration of all professional competencies. Students are expected to apply knowledge, skills, attitudes, and clinical reasoning in a coherent and responsible manner within a real therapeutic context.

During this placement, students learn to plan, organize, execute, and evaluate client‑centred occupational therapy interventions. Professional competency profiles guide this process, with the ICF framework providing structure and depth. The goal is for students to function with increasing professional independence and to position themselves clearly as occupational therapists within the health care and social welfare system of the host country.

Students work directly in authentic therapeutic situations and are supported by both an on‑site supervisor and a PXL supervisor. Strong emphasis is placed on integrating theory and practice through systematic reflection and the development of a training report.

Regular meetings with the PXL supervisor further strengthen the connection between practical experience and theoretical insight. Ethical and deontological issues that arise during the placement are explored in depth, enabling students to analyse them critically, articulate them clearly, and propose well‑reasoned solutions.

Summer School English

An intensive English language course (held before the start of the other courses) for incoming and outgoing PXL students (+-35 hours divided over 6 weekdays from 9/9 to 16/9).

In order to determine your level you'll have to complete a written intake and an oral intake interview before the start of the Summer School on 8/9 on campus in Hasselt. 

Using authentic material, this course gives you the best possible chance of making the most of your educational opportunities and it provides help in developing essential skills for your career. 

With the focus on general English you will be given the opportunity to practice on:

• Writing reports, essays …
• Giving presentations, seminar discussions …
• Taking notes on the main points of a lectures …
• Understanding main ideas in paragraphs and longer texts …
• Brief recapitulation of the main grammar items…

Survival Dutch

You will learn the basics of the Dutch language so you will be able to take the bus/train, find your way in Hasselt or order a pint in a pub.There is a strong focus on communication, listening to conversations by native speakers and understanding the (basic) contents. 

Subjects:

• Meeting and greeting, on the road
• In town: shopping - eating – drinking – washing clothes
• The alphabet, pronunciation
• Numbers, time, dates
• Going out, making an appointment
• Health, going to the doctor and pharmacy.

The lectures will take place during 9 weeks (sept-dec), this with a frequency of 3 hours (evening) a week. 

English for eXchange

In this course, students learn how to communicate in an international (professional) context. Students work on their general language skills as well as improve their language competences so that they can function in an international working environment.

This course is designed to practice the four communicative skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking by e.g.:

• reading newspaper articles and short stories and understanding the (basic) contents;
• deriving the meaning of selected vocabulary items from a text;
• writing formal/neutral (professional) and informal emails or letters;
• listening to conversations by native speakers and understanding the (basic) contents;
• watching short movie fragments and understanding the (basic) contents;
• expressing one's opinion about topics of general or professional interest;
• having everyday (professional) conversations/performing role plays.

The exact contents of the course is subject to change and is open to suggestions by students. Students extend their vocabulary by reading real life texts, listening to conversations by native speakers and by having conversations and playing role plays.

They study grammar items by doing exercises and will have to put these grammatical items into practice in conversations and in writing.

The lectures will take place during 9 weeks (sept-dec), this with a frequency of 3 hours (evening) a week.