UNITE is the new pan-European project initiated by EIT Digital that aims to transform healthcare through digital deeptech innovation.
Selected as part of the European Commission’s Regional Innovation Valleys initiative within the framework of the New European Agenda for Innovation, the four-year project was launched with a meeting of all consortium partners at the EIT House in Brussels, in the presence of Christina Nanou, EISMEA project officer, Magdalena Cymerys, policy officer of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Research and Innovation, and Christine Kriza, EISMEA project advisor.
As healthcare systems across Europe face growing challenges, from an ageing population to a shortage of healthcare workers, there is an urgent need for innovative digital solutions. The UNITE consortium, led by EIT Digital, brings together a diverse group of partners to address these pressing issues.
“The healthcare challenges facing Europe today require a unified and innovative response. Through the UNITE initiative, we are empowering regions and companies to develop and scale deep tech solutions that will improve the efficiency, accessibility and quality of healthcare systems across the continent,” says Federico Menna, CEO of EIT Digital, in a note.
The group of partners includes the Region of Sjaelland in Denmark, the Thüringer Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft und Digitale Gesellschaft in Germany, the Region of Central Macedonia in Greece, the Region of Lombardy in Italy, the Voivodship of Malopolska in Poland, the Unitatea Executiva Pentru Finantarea Invatamantului Superior, a Cercetarii, Dezvoltarii si Inovarii (UEFISCDI) in Romania, the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional State Administration in Ukraine and Scottish Enterprise in the UK.
UNITE will launch open calls for proposals to cascade funding to highly innovative European digital health companies. These calls will support start-ups, scale-ups and SMEs in providing deep technology solutions that bridge regional innovation gaps, improve Europe’s global competitiveness and ensure equitable access to healthcare for all.
The key objective of the project is to streamline public procurement processes and health data sharing between partner regions, ensuring that innovative solutions can be integrated into regional health systems more efficiently. In addition, UNITE will activate tailor-made online training programmes for key stakeholders in the digital health ecosystem, establishing a knowledge base between regions and promoting a deeper understanding of the innovations that are shaping the future of healthcare.
The importance of the UNITE programme is supported by significant financial support from the European Commission. The budget for the consortium’s activities is almost EUR 20 million. At least half of the programme budget will be allocated to support 3-5 interregional innovation projects focusing on the development and deployment of next-generation digital health solutions.
By 2028, the consortium will also provide policy recommendations to regional and European decision-makers, ensuring that lessons learnt from the UNITE programme can be incorporated into future initiatives.
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