With 130 participants, the Partnering Day 2017 was very well attended. In more than 200 bilateral talks, researchers and industry representatives exchanged innovative technologies and project ideas, thus paving the way for sustainable cooperation.

On 21 September, the Medical University of Graz organized the international Partnering Day 2017 as part of the Wissenstransferzentrum Süd (WTZ Süd) in cooperation with the Graz University of Technology, the University of Graz, the Montanuniversität Leoben and the Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt.

In the morning, following two plenary sessions, selected participants presented a series of pitches from research and industry. The afternoon was dedicated to partnering activities with bilateral talks exploring opportunities for cooperation projects.

In her opening address, Caroline Schober-Trummler, Vice-Rector for Research and International Matters at the Medical University of Graz talked with the moderator Veronika Schöpf about the projects and the significance of the WTZ Süd with a particular emphasis on the Partnering Day.

Christiane Druml’s keynote was received with great interest. In her role as President of the Austrian National Bioethics Commission, she outlined the importance of bioethics for our society. This starts with basic (medical) decisions at the beginning of life, extending to various possible interventions towards the end of life (CRISPR) and ultimately to a dignified death. In the second keynote lecture, Franz Dornig, Manager Cognitive Solutions at IBM, spoke about existing and future artificial cognitive systems, which will also have a significant impact on the medical field.

Following the keynotes, selected individuals from research and industry presented their current technologies and cooperation ideas in five-minute pitches. These short presentations gave an excellent overview of a range of health tech topics. Prizes were awarded for the best pitch as chosen by the audience (Francesco Greco, Graz University of Technology) and the best project (Michael Mayrhofer-Reinhartshuber, KML Vision OG).

Following the morning session, the focus of the afternoon was on partnering meetings with the aim of initiating or expanding cooperative activities. Weeks before the event, participants could book meetings and this platform was very actively used. Companies and research groups were thus able to exchange ideas in 20-minute bilateral B2B meetings conducted according to personalised, pre-arranged meeting schedules. With a total of 225 B2B meetings paving the way for sustainable cooperation, tables were booked solid until the evening.

Pictures: Medical University of Graz

Written by: Medical University of Graz, RG
on: 05/10/2017