Health Innovation Zone

HIZ by DIZ: the first pre-validation program for innovative healthcare solutions

welcome to health innovation zone!

EIT Health together with the Digital Innovation Zone, the Technical University Gheorghe Asachi Iași and the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Gr.T. Popa Iași are organizing, between June and December 2023, a unique program for the pre-validation of innovative solutions in the field of health, which offers you access to experts in the field, mentors, testing facilities and fast track to the international ecosystem.

The Health Innovation Zone (HIZ) program aims to achieve several
impact objectives (innovation impact, economic impact and social impact), in close accordance with the EIT Health action plan and the impact objectives of the EIT Health DRIVE project, on the basis of which it was developed in the period 2022-2023. It is designed to support activities for healthcare start-ups in regions with modest and moderate innovation capacity, according to the European Innovation Scoreboard.

about the program

The program will select at least 10 teams with innovative solutions to be part of the pre-validation process, organized on design thinking principles and frequent interaction with mentors and experts from the medical and tech fields. Selected participants will benefit from pre-validation services, support, mentoring and access to EIT Health’s innovation ecosystem.

program objectives

• Team Training: Focused on 10 teams, the program will equip
participants with the skills needed for healthcare innovation and support them for the preliminary business model and solution validation, including access to testing platforms and experts.

• Creating a Health Innovation Community: The objective is to generate a health innovation community within the medical ecosystem in the North-East region, which will function as a learning, sharing and validation space for technology start-ups medical.

• Implementation of Design Thinking methodology: The program follows a design thinking approach, with monthly virtual
check-ins with mentors and experts, and specific activities carried out by participants.

• Making connections: For validated start-ups, the next step is to connect with other ecosystems within EIT Health to expand and amplify their impact.

• Development of a scalable support program: In the long term, it is desired to create a support program for health innovation start-ups that will serve as a production line for future health technology solutions that will enter the ecosystem Digital Innovation Zone as potential suppliers for the hospitals and medical institutions we work with.

program themes

Apply with a solution that falls within:

• New models of providing medical services, with an emphasis on value
brought to the patient and on prevention.

• Supporting the digital transformation of healthcare in Europe,
focusing on the development and access to digital medical devices.

• Fully harnessing the potential of medical data for innovation,
supporting the implementation of the European Health Data Space.

• Educate and develop patients, citizens and healthcare professionals
to understand the importance and relevance of data sharing in informing and
improving care protocols.

who can apply?

•SMEs, startups, student teams and researchers providing innovative solutions to real challenges faced by other relevant healthcare stakeholders.

Thus, the program is open for the following categories of teams:

•Teams of students and researchers;

•Start-ups developing an innovative product/service relevant to the health field.

Innovative solutions must be at a level that allows their pre-validation, either through interviews with patients, medical experts, etc., through piloting at the level of medical teams or even through pre-validation in laboratory conditions and testing facilities, made available by partner research organizations: Gheorghe Asachi Technical University Iași and Gr.T.Popa Iași University of Medicine and Pharmacy.

To facilitate the formation of complementary teams (medical & technical), we also encourage the application of individual participants as experts, whom we will help find their place in a team. As an expert (in the tech, business or medical field), you will be registered, at the end of the program, in the Catalog of experts of the Digital Innovation Zone and you will be able to participate, with us, in other innovation and digitization missions of the North Region East.

WHAT BENEFITS YOU CAN GET AFTER PARTICIPATING

The program consists of a series of workshops and practical interactions between July and November 2023, together with industry experts (medical and tech) and experienced entrepreneurs. During the program teams will be supported to pre-validate their idea and business model and will have access to testing facilities, experimentation and mentors, including from the EIT Health Mentoring & Coaching Network.The program will conclude with a Demo Day in December, in front of a panel of mentors and investors.

The program offers:

•Access to tools, materials and methodologies needed in the development of entrepreneurial skills and business development, specific to the health field.

•Feedback from industry, academic and healthcare experts.

•By the end of the program, teams will develop a set of deliverables that demonstrate pre-validation of the solution, which will be useful for them to apply to accelerator programs and which potential investors can request.

•All winning projects will enjoy international visibility and publicity through EIT Health’s communication channels.

•The pre-validated projects will be included in the catalog of suppliers of the Digital Innovation Zone, being able to be proposed for use in public and private institutions in the medical field in the Northeast region

Organizers

Our program is supported by a strong consortium consisting of renowned institutions with extensive experience in innovation and medicine. Digital Innovation Zone leads in technological development, “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iași is renowned for its expertise in the technical field, EIT Health is a point of reference in healthcare innovation, and “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Iași is a center of excellence in medical education and research.

For participants

How to apply?

The enrollment process is simple. In May, we began the enrollment process. Next, there’s the onboarding stage for mentors and partners, after that:

May 1st - June 22th

Team/individual participant registration.

June 23th / Pitching Day

On Site / FabLab / UMF in Aula. (Iași)

03 - 08 July / Workshop 1

Meet the Mentors, Design Thinking* (User research / Empathy), Patient Empowerment, Intro prototyping and iterative design (technical landscape) ( Hybrid )

July - August / Field Work

Field validation, Online meetings with mentors, Start prototyping & user research.

04 - 09 September / Workshop 2

Design Thinking* (Problem definition / Ideation): Healthcare Communication, Value Proposition ( Hybrid )

11 - 23 September / Field Work

Individual and group mentoring sessions.

September 25th - September 30th / Workshop 3

Design Thinking* (testing / evaluation first iteration - validation from experts): Healthtech Business Model, Access to the innovation ecosystem and partnerships, Industry success stories. ( Hybrid )

02-07 October / Field Work

Individual and group mentoring sessions.

09 - 17 October / Workshop 4

Design Thinking* (intro in preliminary validation): Preliminary validation pe tehnic, Preliminary validation pe business, Preliminary validation pe medical. ( Hybrid )

16 Oct - 04 Nov / Field Work

Individual and group mentoring sessions.

06 - 11 November / Workshop 5

Design Thinking: Final validation (pitch priming + product demo), Access to financing. (Hybrid)

04 - 09 December / Demo Day

Each team will give a five-minute pitch, followed by a three-minute Q&A session.

Do you already have a team*?

*Only one team member will submit a single registration for the entire team.

Please make sure you have entered the registration details correctly.

Do you want to join a team*?

*We will help you find your place in the right team.

Please make sure you have entered the registration details correctly.

Requirements:

Innovative solutions must be at a level that allows their pre-validation, either through interviews with patients, medical experts, etc., through piloting at the level of medical teams or even through pre-validation in laboratory conditions and testing facilities, made available by partner research organizations: Gheorghe Asachi Technical University Iași and Gr.T.Popa Iași University of Medicine and Pharmacy.