On the final days of March, specifically on March 27, 28 and 29, 2023 took place the third study visit, in Cluj-Napoca.
The main objective of the Cluj-Napoca study visit was to put together the representatives of the four Digital Innovation Hubs with relevant regional stakeholders in the healthcare and innovation ecosystem.
There were three intensive days with a lot of activities, know-how transfer and relevant connections and opportunities. Transilvania Digital Innovation Hub and Transilvania IT Cluster were the hosts for the consortium partners: DIH bio (Spain), Ljubljana Technology Park (Slovenia) and Minalogic (France).
The European partners of DIHs_P4Medicine project have reunited on the first day at the Transilvania Digital Innovation Hub office (ABC Incubator) for a roundtable discussion along with relevant stakeholders in the healthcare and innovation sector (universities, companies), with an emphasis on challenges and different perspectives.
All the guests present at the roundtable had intensive discussions with the partners, sharing know-how and perspectives about all the main challenges in the Romanian health-care sector. Hospitals managers, NGOs directors, universities representantes and other relevant actors present in the room were excited to create new connections and share their perspectives on the topic.
On the second day of the study visit, the consortium partners had the occasion to visit some of the most important points relevant for digital health in Cluj-Napoca. According to this, partners visited the following facilities:
University of Medicine and Pharmacy ”Iuliu Hațieganu” MedFuture Lab, dedicated to healthcare
Babeș-Bolyai University - DATA (Digital Affective Technologies in Therapy and Assessment Lab) Lab
MEDISPROF - cancer private hospital
Scripor Alphabet
OVISO Robotics
Universities are a strong icon in Cluj-Napoca and they make important steps for innovation and digital transformation of the regional healthcare ecosystem, working together with companies, clusters and public authorities. Also, the companies play an important role in coming up with digital solutions helping for the healthcare sector. The partners were really impressed by all the interactions with these entities and all the knowledge transfer and the reception was useful for this project.
The third day was a wrap-up day with short discussions about the next steps that need to be made for the continuation of the project. The partners reunited at ABC Incubator having the final talks about this study visit and next steps in defining the joint work of the consortium.
What we learned from this study visit?
That here are a lot of benefits in these kinds of meetings and visits, because it offers us the opportunity to create new opportunities for collaboration between the regions represented by the Digital Innovation Hubs, attracting new funding, as well as the possibility of accessing new markets by Romanian companies that develop innovative and relevant solutions for the health sector. And of course, we’ve learned that there is a lot to be researched and done with and for the regional healthcare ecosystem.
We are preparing for the last study visit of the project which will take place in Madrid, early this summer. Stay tuned for more information, to be updated with the project status!