University of Galway recently welcomed 147 researchers, PhD students and external industry stakeholders from across the ENLIGHT network for a special event to address solutions for global societal challenges. The ‘ENLIGHT European Dialogue Digital Innovation in Health and Wellbeing’, co-hosted with Uppsala University, ran from 23 to 25 May 2023, and brought together ENLIGHT universities and external stakeholders to share best practices and foster future research and education collaborations. 14 digital health companies from the ENLIGHT regions participated in the networking event. Local companies from Galway, SymPhysis Medical, FeelTect, Croí and Boston Scientific, were joined by digital health companies from across ENLIGHT regions: Azalea Vision, moonbird (invited by Ghent University), Geneto OÜ (invited by Tartu University), Stardots AB, Datatera AB, Tada Group (invited by Uppsala University), Alliance Innovation Santé Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Myotact and Nurea (invited by University of Bordeaux) and Legit.Health (invited by the University of the Basque Country).
The event incorporated an AIMday (Academic Industry Meeting Day) which originated in Uppsala University where specific challenges raised by external organisations are discussed by multi-disciplinary researchers who can provide different perspectives and explore new avenues to solving the challenge. It is an exchange of knowledge and ideas focussed on finding novel approaches to real-world challenges and exploring ways to continue cooperation between external organisations and ENLIGHT universities.
In addition to AIMday, the European Dialogue hosted keynotes on trends in Digital Health, including one from Dr Andrzej Rys, Director for Health Systems, Medical Products and Innovation, DG Sante, European Commission. The event also incorporated thematic workshops on key topics in digital health, linked to upcoming and current Horizon funding calls. Delegates broke into smaller groups according to their area of interest and provided essential community feedback as we begin our discussions on the European Thematic Networks (ETNs) proposed for the next phase of ENLIGHT.
Many ENLIGHT partners have seed funding for projects that were discussed at the European Dialogue, contact your institutional coordinator for more information.
See the aftervideo: