“In our advanced training course ‘Digital Practice Management’, we pass on this knowledge to our students by demonstrating how to run a business efficiently, for example with the help of EasyGov.”

More than 30 years ago, the small THIM School of Physiotherapy was founded in Landquart (GR). It was the first Swiss school to offer a bachelor’s degree in physiotherapy. Managing Director Thim van der Laan talks to us about the challenges of being both a company and a training institution, and about the added value offered by EasyGov when dealing with administrative tasks.

Thim, please tell us about yourself and the Thim van der Laan International School of Physiotherapy.

Thim van der Laan AG has been training physiotherapists since 1990. Since the 2000s, the physiotherapy course has been offered as a university degree programme leading to a Bachelor of Science degree in physiotherapy. Apart from the basic training, the school also offers research and advanced training.

How did you get into this profession?

It was through my grandfather, who founded a physiotherapy school in the Netherlands in the 1970s. In 1990, he moved to Switzerland, where he opened the school here in Landquart, which my father eventually took over. I have been working in the family business since 2010 and became Managing Director in 2014.

The physiotherapy school is both a training company and a business. Where do you see the biggest challenges from an entrepreneurial point of view?

The challenges are that in the teaching business we mainly concentrate on physiotherapy, on the technical aspects, while in the background, on the business side, we need above all efficient administration and organisation.

How do you view the growing trend towards the digitalisation of government services, such as via the online platform EasyGov?

I look upon the growing trend towards the digitalisation of government services in principal as something positive. With EasyGov, for example, we can update commercial register entries even faster and more efficiently than previously possible.

Do your experiences from running your business also flow into the lessons with the students who might eventually start their own businesses once they’ve graduated?

Our entrepreneurial experience is particularly integrated into our advanced education course, “Digital Practice Management”. This is a special offer for physiotherapists who want to become self-employed.

How does the interaction between the training company and the company look like in practice?

In the area of training, we concentrate on physiotherapy, while on the business side, there’s a stronger focus on efficient processes, for example in administration and organisation. Here EasyGov supports us primarily when we need to make changes to commercial register entries. We pass on this knowledge to our students in our advanced education course “Digital Practice Management”, and show how a business can be run efficiently, for example with the help of EasyGov.