“Engineering Health is an important meeting place”

HEALTH AND TECHNOLOGY. Hello there, Martin Fagerström, Associate Professor and Deputy Area Leader for the Health and Technology area at Chalmers, as well as one of the organizers of this year’s interdisciplinary conference, Engineering Health.

What is Engineering Health really about? Why is it so special?

“Engineering Health is an important meeting place for researchers from various disciplines within the health field, where we can find new ways to meet and come up with new solutions. The hope is that participants will discover new research questions that they were not aware of within their own fields. It can also be an inspiring opportunity for younger researchers.”

Any parts of the conference that you think might be particularly interesting for individuals working in healthcare?

“Probably the morning sessions on the first day of the conference, which focus on opportunities and the introduction of new technology. Here, one can gain a better understanding of what can be done and also how technology can be implemented. It’s one thing to come up with new technology, another to see what works within healthcare.

Day two concludes with speed dating, which can be an excellent opportunity to find others to collaborate with, and it’s advantageous if individuals from all disciplines participate.”

How important are these types of conferences?

“I think they are absolutely crucial for us to be able to advance healthcare together. But it’s also important for us to be able to develop the research field; we need to understand what future challenges exist and we need to solve them together. It strengthens us to meet!”

What do you hope will be the outcome of the conference?

“I hope that even more individuals working in healthcare will see the opportunities in co-development and the use of new technology as a way forward. And that many researchers find new ideas for studies and research projects to drive forward.”

Are there any program points that you are particularly looking forward to?

“It’s probably the speed dating that concludes the conference. Not least because I myself hope to find new collaborations.”

BY: PATRIK CENTERWALL
The article was first published by Sahlgrenskaliv.