NOVA Medical School hosted the event Introduction to Health Innovation, at the end of September, and joined participants from NOVA Medical School, NOVA School of Business and Economics (NOVA SBE) and HealthTech companies.
This event aimed to promote knowledge on developing innovative health solutions and marked an introduction to the Health Innovation specialization within the Nova SBE Master's in Impact Entrepreneurship & Innovation. This specialization program is part of the HealthEConnect project, a collaboration between NOVA Medical School, Copenhagen Business School, BioInnovation Institute, Patient Innovation, and StartUp Europe, designed to bridge the worlds of entrepreneurship and healthcare innovation.
The morning started with a keynote by Leonie Kellner, an entrepreneurship education specialist from Denmark's BioInnovation Institute, who emphasized the important role business students can play in advancing healthcare through innovation. Following this, Lúcia Domingues, researcher and coordinator of NOVA CRU, provided valuable insights into the clinical validation process for health innovations, focusing on regulatory challenges and the importance of ensuring the reliability of health solutions.
The event also featured a dynamic roundtable discussion with Helena Canhão (Dean of NOVA Medical School), Maria João Jacinto (NOVA SBE), and medical students Afonso Talha and Ricardo Mata from NOWACE, moderated by Ana Rodrigues (NOVA Medical School). Opportunities and challenges in health innovation were discussed, sparking valuable discussions with the audience.
The live presentations of Health Innovation Solutions featured impactful projects from Virtuleap, presented by Bebiana Moura, which demonstrated VR solutions for cognitive training; Healthy Bone EpiDoC Unit, presented by the researcher Alexandre Moniz, a digital platform to reduce fragility fractures; and João Conde from ToxOmics, showcased nanobiotechnology advancements for cancer treatment.
After these presentations, participants could explore the presented health innovation solutions by Virtuleap, EpiDoC Unit, and ToxOmics, offering a hands-on experience with these cutting-edge technologies that address key healthcare challenges.