Rigmor Furu

Rigmor Furu serves as a Senior Lecturer at UiT The Arctic University of Norway's Faculty of Health Sciences, where she leads the Digital Learning Team and manages the VeiKomp Nord project focused on guidance competence for sustainable healthcare in Northern Norway. She is affiliated with the Center for Health Pedagogical Development (HelPed), which drives professionalization of teaching roles and educational innovation within the faculty.

Her research interests center on digital learning resources, pedagogical design, educational technology, and interprofessional education in healthcare settings. Furu has developed numerous digital learning tools and virtual resources to enhance therapeutic competence and professional collaboration among healthcare students and practitioners, with particular focus on virtual reality applications and flexible learning models.

Analysis of her recent publications (2019-2025) reveals a strong trajectory in developing virtual learning environments for interprofessional healthcare education, with increasing emphasis on VR technology for therapeutic competence development. Her work spans digital resource development, guidance competence, dementia care technology, and sustainable healthcare education models for Northern Norway.

Furu actively participates in multiple research projects including:

• VeiKomp Nord (2023-2028) - Guidance competence for sustainable healthcare
• TeraVRi - Therapeutic competence through VR technology
• Interactive Video - New digital learning arenas through interdisciplinary collaboration
• Strengthening health professional students' therapeutic competence using VR

Her work with HelPed provides crucial support for faculty management, departments, and academic staff in developing educational quality, offering flexible competence development tailored to teachers' and practice supervisors' needs.