Łukasiewicz joins forces with EIT Health and the Medical University of Łódź

Łukasiewicz, the third largest European research organisation and the biggest Polish research and development organisation, has joined EIT Health, the leading European public-private partnership supporting innovation in medicine and healthcare. Łukasiewicz has also signed a cooperation agreement with the Medical University of Łódź. It is another Polish university with which Łukasiewicz institutes are intensifying their cooperation, but it’s the first one with a medical profile.

As part of the agreement concluded on 15 September this year in Warsaw under the auspices of EIT Health, Łukasiewicz and the Medical University of Łódź will execute projects supporting entrepreneurship, particularly the academic entrepreneurship, in the field of healthcare – one of the four priority area of operations of the largest Polish research network. Additionally, EIT Health has confirmed Łukasiewicz has formally joined to the community. In practice, both agreements expand the fields of cooperation between the EIT Health partners in Poland and open the door to creating new innovative projects concerning medicine and healthcare, which could be used by Polish patients as well.

“These two agreements are an important step in the development of medicine of the future in Poland. The agreement between the Łukasiewicz Research Network and the Medical University of Łódź, which is already an EIT Health partner, along with the official partnership of Łukasiewicz and EIT Health, creates new opportunities for research and development, educational and start-up-related cooperation. We have created a point of contact and flow of information which make it possible for Łukasiewicz to collaborate with EIT Health and all our partners. The development of the EIT Health partnership in Poland is one of the crucial success factors for innovative medicine and healthcare,” said Mikołaj Gurdała, EIT Health InnoStars Manager. Łukasiewicz – PORT Polish Centre for Technology Development has formally become an EIT Health partner, which will not only strengthen the cooperation between partners in Poland, but it will also contribute to the development of new innovative projects and support for e.g biotechnological start-ups,” adds Mikołaj Gurdała.

“Today, Łukasiewicz gains not two, but 150 partners — major institutions, companies and universities in Europe — to cooperate with on research and development projects, which, I hope, will change the face of the medical industry and healthcare system in Poland. We are at a crucial moment when the eyes of the public are again upon researchers and doctors. People expect solutions that will guarantee the health safety of Poles at the highest level. Combining Łukasiewicz scientific potential, including, among others, medical technologies, biotechnology or drug research, and the knowledge and competences of EIT Health members, with the Medical University of Łódź, is an important step to achieve that. I’m glad our cooperation with the Medical University and Prof. Lucyna Woźniak that we have had on the national level so far is currently moving to the European level. I am sure it will soon result in numerous innovative projects,” emphasises Piotr Dardziński, President of the Łukasiewicz Research Network.

“The agreement between the Łukasiewicz Research Network and our university, which is part of EIT Health, provides for the execution of common research and development projects, implementation of educational programmes and exchange of experience and know-how relating to the acceleration of new spin-offs and start-ups. We wish to build another research platforms in the field of medicine, clinical research and healthcare. We have been actively creating innovations in Poland and Europe for over 6 years and we have also been educating future doctors at the European level,” says Prof. Lucyna Woźniak, Vice-Rector of the Medical University of Łódź.

The parties to the agreement signed today will start working on one of the projects next year. Smart Rescue Bootcamp provides training in management and practical use of tools for authors of 12 promising solutions that improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare in hospitals and emergency rooms. It will be aimed at start-ups, scale-ups, teams of young entrepreneurs, and scientists from Europe offering products and services in the field of medical technology, biotechnology, e-health, food, healthy life, and ageing.

The agreement was signed during a Round Table Meeting at the EIT Health Think Tank in Warsaw. Representatives of government institutions, companies, universities and start-ups discussed the wider use of artificial intelligence in medicine and health care. A report from the meeting and additional recommendations concerning the implementation of artificial intelligence will be available on eithealth.eu.

The Medical University of Łódź is the sixth university, and the first one with a medical profile, with which Łukasiewicz formalizes its research and development cooperation. So far, it has entered into agreements with Warsaw University of Technology, Silesian University of Technology, Łódź University of Technology, AGH University of Science and Technology, and Poznań University of Technology. The purpose of conducting joint projects with the academic community is to support the Łukasiewicz research and development offer for business.

The Łukasiewicz Research Network is also a partner of Knowledge and Innovation Community – Climate (Climate-KIC), one of the European Institute of Technology & Innovation (EIT) communities, which supports innovation in environmental protection. Łukasiewicz PIAP institute and ILIM institute are EIT Manufacturing and EIT Urban Mobility hubs in Poland. Apart from Business & Science Poland (BSP) and EARTO, this is another international organization which enables the cooperation of Łukasiewicz institutes with European and world leaders.