DIGITALWELL ARENA/DIGITALWELL VENTURES BECOMES PART OF THE EUROPEAN INNOVATION HUB
17 June, 2022
Health Data Sweden (HDS) will be one of Europe's Digital Innovation Hubs. The decision has been made by the EU Commission and Health Data Sweden will be Sweden's only representative in digital health. DigitalWell Arena/DigitalWell Ventures is one of the association's 18 partners.
Health Data Sweden is a national association consisting of universities, regions, innovation environments and research institutes. The strength of the digital innovation hub lies in cutting-edge research on health data combined with an ecosystem that, via the parties’ networks, expertise and range of services, can pass on knowledge to the public sector, business and citizens.
Health Data Sweden wants to accelerate the use of health data to contribute to more efficient healthcare. An important task will therefore be to meet the great need for services that contribute to small and medium-sized companies in collaboration with the public sector being able to develop new digital health and welfare services. In addition to better health for the individual, these services can also contribute to solving major demographic societal challenges, for example to make care more accessible and equal.
– Health Data Sweden has united a Sweden-wide constellation of competence. Being able to disseminate knowledge and experiences from the best initiatives is a basic prerequisite for us to succeed in creating value from health data, not only for research but above all for citizens, says Sebastiaan Meijer, professor of healthcare logistics at KTH, who is the coordinating party for Health Data Sweden.
DigitalWelll Arena's team in HDS together with KTH's project management. From left: Magnus Bårdén, Aline de Santa Izabel, Jonas Matthing, Sebastiaan Meijer (Project Coordinator), Erika Tanos and Frida Lindberg (Hub Manager).
Well-developed network
In total, Health Data Sweden’s partners already deliver services that reach more than 800 companies annually, the ambition as a digital innovation hub is now to almost double this capacity.
Sweden is already at the forefront of both health innovation and the use of health data, but the innovation process is hampered by fragmented ownership of data. This clarifies the need for an ecosystem that includes all major stakeholders, where cutting-edge knowledge, data access, test beds and early funding will be available as services for both the public sector and small and medium-sized enterprises in Sweden and the EU.
– That Sweden can in this way take the lead in the joint European work with better utilization of health data is very gratifying. The innovation hub Health Data Sweden will be important for the ecosystem in life science and for policy development both in Sweden and internationally, says Jenni Nordborg, national life science coordinator at the Government Offices.
A total of 141 digital innovation hubs have been nominated by the European Commission among 283 candidate candidates. Health Data Sweden is Sweden’s only Digital Innovation Hub but a pure focus on health.
Health Data Sweden’s 18 partners:
Blekinge Digital Health, Bron Innovation, DigitalWell Arena/DigitalWell Ventures, eHealth Arena, EIT Digital, EIT Health, Future Position X, Karolinska Institutet, KTH (coordinator), Leap for Life, Linnaeus University, Life Medicine, Stockholm Region, RISE, Stockholm Science City, Stockholm University , STUNS Life Science, Uppsala University (UU).
European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH)
The investment in digital innovation hubs is part of the EU program “Digital”. The goal of the program is for companies, citizens and public organizations to make greater use of digital technology. The investments that are prioritized must be linked to four key areas:
High performance computers (HPC)
Artificial Intelligence
Cyber security
Advanced digital skills
By providing technical expertise, new ways of working and test environments, EDIH helps companies and the public sector to improve production processes, products and services using digital technologies.