Hospital clowns and Service Management students

The idea emerged from the cooperation between Service Management students on Cphbusiness Lyngby and the Association Danish Hospital Clowns.

- It has been very inspiring to participate and there have been many great ideas, says project worker Sissel Witt from Danish Hospital Clowns.

Together with assistant manager Lea Brams Olesen it's the first time she has worked with Service Management students on a specific problem and it's been a positive experience.

- There hasn't been any groups efforts we couldn't use input from, says Lea Brams Olesen.

Difference in the cities 

Danish Hospital Clowns faces a specific challenge, and it's that challenge the students were charged to find a solution for, throughout the 24 hours the case competition lasted.

The hospital clowns need money for their work, which then benefits the patients on hospitals throughout the country. The money must be raised and here the challenge emerges in the larger cities, where the attachment to the local hospital is lesser, than in the smaller cities.

The association therefor looked for a way to create awareness and raise money for the work. The students split up in groups, and produced suggestions to how they could obtain their goal.

An important issue 

It was the group consisting of Dennis Hauge, Thomas Kielland-Brandt, Nicklas Bromann Tind, Katrine Hede Bjerre and Camilla Graugaard that won the competition.

Their idea was a concurrent event in the 5-6 largest cities in Denmark, where hospital clowns acts in the public space by pushing a hospital bed around. At the same time the event will be promoted in various ways through social media. The goal of the event is to create awareness and profit to the associations work.

- The hospital bed was an important element in the event, to show that it isn't just "fun and games", says Katrine Hede Bjerre, and Dennis Hauge continues:

- It is very important to show that a hospital clown isn't just a clown, but also acts out of empathy.