Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania: Since 1990, the three Baltic states have been secret shooting stars in Europe. And with their positive economic development they also count among the most dynamic economies in the euro area in 2017, despite the economic and political uncertainties in Russia and the weak economies in major EU trading partners. On the other side, there is a general shortage of skilled labour force in all three countries, as qualified workers migrate to Western Europe.
DMAN has been cooperating with its representative for the Baltic states, Liia Urman, for many years. In order to give new momentum to the cooperation and to explore the markets and needs on site, programme manager Julia Thoma and DMAN representative Liia Urman travelled through the Baltics in May 2017.
The discussions they had with the Lithuanian Association of Hospital Managers in Vilnius were particularly interesting. Members of the association had visited DMAN in May 2015 where they took part in a one-week seminar tour on the topic of "Efficiency increase in the health sector. Best practices in Germany". The qualification program on hospital management included visits to the General Hospital of Celle, Klinikum Buchholz and Städtisches Klinikum Lüneburg. Now the association considers sending Lithuanian doctors to Celle again.
Estonia is considered a European showcase in the field of digitization and a pioneer in modern information and communication technologies: PCs, mobile phones and internet banking are widely used. Parking tickets are paid per smartphone. The health system is being digitized. And innovative projects such as the nationwide deployment of e-government and e-learning were implemented years ago. During the municipal elections in October 2005, e-voting was used for the first time.
Digital innovations are currently being driven forward in the fields of higher education and logistics. The Secretary General of the Association of Estonian International Road Carriers, Toivo Kuldkepp, talked about a new project of the association dealing with "paperless handling of transport documents" which he could also serve as a model for Germany, he said.
Toivo Kuldkepp likes to recall a seminar tour which he undertook, together with other members of the logistics association, to DMAN some years ago. In particular, he remembers Bier Akademie Celle, a well-known pub in the old town, and Ratzeputz, a popular spirit distilled in Celle.