One of Finland’s candidates to European Digital Innovation Hubs is HealthHub Finland. The proposal was submitted in February. Turku Science Park Ltd. is the coordinator for this project.
European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) are part of the EU’s new Digital Europe Programme. They function as service points that boost digital investments and the digitalisation of SMEs. By providing access to technical expertise and experimentation as well as the possibility to ‘test before invest’, EDIHs help companies improve their processes, products, or services using digital technologies. They also provide innovation services, such as financing advice, training, and skills development that are needed for a successful digital transformation. Finland has previously designated seven EDIH candidates, which were given the permission to proceed to the related EC funding call “Initial Network of European Digital Innovation Hubs”, with due date 22 February 2022.
One of the Finnish EDIH candidates is HealthHub Finland, coordinated by Turku Business Region development company Turku Science Park Ltd.. Other partners include the Hospital District of Southwest Finland, FinBB, Business Tampere, Kuopio Health, KAMK – Kajaani University of Applied Sciences, University of Oulu and Business Oulu.
HealthHub Finland is focused on leading the digital transformation of healthcare through data-driven innovation. HealtHub Finland has the aim of facilitating new and emerging data-driven solutions created by SMEs in Finland and Europe that shape the future of healthcare domain in Europe and beyond. To do this, the proposal offers multidisciplinary co-creation opportunities for European companies and public healthcare providers that create digital solutions in the fields of health care, pharmaceutical development, medical imaging, diagnostics, and genetics.
HealtHub Finland partners come from five regions in Finland with their own expertise and services, but they also collaborate more widely with local and regional innovation ecosystem partners to provide seamless and full-scale services to customers, both SMEs and public sector organizations. Turku Business Region and our HealthTurku cluster has a strong role in the HealtHub Finland EDIH proposal.
– Our cluster has several strengths and even a leading role eg. among professional healthtech innovations in Finland. But HealthHub Finland is more, it is the sum of all the five regions’ excellences and as a total creates a great potential to accelerate the digital transformation in Finland and in EU, says Tero Piispanen, Director of HealthTurku cluster.
– The industry also strongly supports our project. Healthtech Finland, Pharma Industry Finland and Finnish Bioindustries see the planned measures important for the industry.
If the proposal will be successful in the evaluation and leads to a funding agreement, HealthHub Finland EDIH is estimated to start its operations during Q4/2022.