EIT Health Round Table features heads of universities and university hospitals

High-level discussion about synergies and strategy

EIT Health leadership discussed strategic directions and ways to strengthen cooperation with key EIT Health partner institutions in Round Table conversations with university rectors and presidents and university hospital CEOs on 1 February 2019.

Hosted by Prof. Dr. Joachim Hornegger, President of the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität (FAU), at his university in Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany, the meeting allowed for high-level dialogue on how best to leverage EIT Health’s relationship with its partners from some of Europe’s leading universities and university hospitals.

The partners voiced strong support for EIT Health to continue adopting, scaling, diffusing and spreading health innovations within our partnership and beyond, and encouraged EIT Health to explore sustainability strategies further. They also offered insights into the key challenges of implementing and scaling innovation, and provided recommendations for further strategic initiatives.

The meeting was chaired by Prof. Dr. Koenraad Debackere, Deputy Chairman of the EIT Health Supervisory Board, and included EIT Health CEO Jan-Philipp Beck and the EIT Health pillar heads, Dr. Ursula Mühle, Director of Education, Dr. Kurt Höller, Director of Business Creation, and Jorge Juan Fernández García, Director of Innovation.

Also in attendance were 20 representatives of some the renowned institutions belonging to the EIT Health network – Karolinska Institutet, Klinikums rechts der Isar, Ruprecht-Karls-Universitat Heidelberg, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, University Hospitals Leuven, Leiden University Medical Center, Sorbonne Université, Uppsala Universitet, Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan, Universitat de Barcelona, and several others.

The evening before featured a reception co-hosted by the Bavarian Minister of Interior, Joachim Herrmann, who spoke of EIT Health’s contribution as a leading innovation initiative contributing to strong patient-centred care for Bavarian citizens.

Over the course of the day-long meeting, participants discussed an overview of the achievements and ambitions of EIT Health, and the roles and achievements of universities and university hospitals in the partnership. There was also discussion of how to leverage our network to succeed in the European and global innovation landscape, including examples of synergies and exploration of new opportunities with health innovation initiatives.