STRATEGY. Recently Dean Agneta Holmäng participated in a Nordic meeting on collaboration to facilitate research and teaching related to precision medicine. The meeting, held by the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen, brought together deans and other key individuals from throughout the Nordic region, including Estonia.
“We discussed opportunities for research and teaching collaboration in precision medicine, and it was a very pleasant and rewarding meeting. As a result of the meeting, we formulated goals and action plans for our continued collaboration, and we are planning a follow-up meeting within a year,” says Agneta Holmäng.
Nordic advantages
Nordic research in precision medicine and the transfer of its results to clinical practice is on the leading edge, and Nordic discoveries and innovations can provide us with continued competitive advantages over the next 10 years. Academic curricula for precision medicine are now being developed around the world, but if higher education institutions in the Nordic region capitalize on their advantages and collaborate across national borders, we can maintain our lead. We are united by the fact that we have registers and other data collections that provide a large amount of information about residents throughout their life span, that our research has public support and that our health care systems are uniform, which allows us to collaborate in clinical studies across national borders.
Common strategies
The meeting provided the opportunity for the medical and health sciences faculties in the Nordic countries to join in developing common strategies. It took place on Friday, February 28, in the Maersk Tower, a new building for the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. Speakers included Per Okkels, the permanent secretary of state of the Ministry of Health of Denmark; Arne Flåøyen, director of Nordforsk; Kari Stefansson, CEO of deCODE genetics; and Jan-Ingvar Jönsson, secretary general for medicine and health at the Swedish Research Council.
In the introduction for the meeting’s agenda, Ulla Wewer, chair of the meeting and dean of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen, noted: “This process helps us determine how collaboration among our countries can benefit our institutions, our students and society in general.”
TEXT: ELIN LINDSTRÖM
