Medical technology is moving faster than ever. The TechMed Event, on November 3 and 4 2021 in Twente, is about the latest technical medical developments. And most of all, it’s about creating impact together. Organisers Joey Pals (TechMed Centre) and Freerk Fabe, World Trade Center Twente (WTC Twente) give us some idea of what to expect.
Text: Stan Waning
The TechMed Event brings together clinical partners, business relations and researchers. Participants will get informed and inspired about the latest scientific insights, new innovations and unique technological solutions that will transform healthcare for the benefit of all of us. The planning for both days of the event is well organised. Joey Pals, event coordinator at the TechMed Centre, pulls up some colourful tables that show exactly what the two days will have to offer. “The main goal is to bring people together. In the morning, everyone chooses what lecture they want to attend. As the day goes on, there are a lot of possibilities for networking and collaboration.”
Pals: ‘We invite people from multiple target groups. "The first group is made up of researchers, the second of physicians and medical specialists and the third consists of representatives from businesses and the industry. We will also receive people from the world of education, the government and various patients’ associations.”
Last year, the event took place entirely online as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The year before that, during the event's inaugural edition, everything happened on location. This year's event will offer a combination of the two. “We always have guests from Asia and North and South America. Although they are more than welcome to attend in person, a hybrid event is much easier and more suitable,” Pals says.
Future-oriented
The convention and various parallel sessions make up the schedule for the first day of the event. “Sessions are held in collaboration with TechMed's partners. That is important for their content. To give you an example: when we organise a session about movement disorders, we do so in collaboration with Roessingh Research and Development. Every session consists of a talk and a presentation with a panel discussion and they are all future-oriented”, says Pals. Curiosity, collaboration and clinical practice are at the core of this event. “We believe that it helps to create, discover and set out advances to improve the patient's journey.”
Collaboration
TechMed Centre organizes the event in collaboration with the World Trade Center Twente (WTC Twente) and with the MedTech Cluster Twente. “We are working together to strengthen the MedTech ecosystem in Twente and position it internationally,” says Freerk Faber, CEO of WTC Twente. The second day revolves around entrepreneurship and networking.
As it is for TechMed, meeting different target groups is also a core focus for WTC Twente. That is why Faber is so excited about the event's hybrid structure, which will once again allow people to meet each other face to face. “We can help regional businesses establish international relationships, which will, in turn, benefit the regional economy. Previous editions of the event were so successful that we will continue to organise it as a partner together with TechMed Centre every year as the region's number-one gathering when it comes to the development of medical technology.”
Pals adds: “Eventually, we want to become the largest gathering place for medical technology professionals in the east of the Netherlands, at the very least. So customize your own programme, meet leading stakeholders and get inspired by presentations on the future of healthcare.”