The Niers Fund eHealth Voucher is awarded annually to a bachelor or master student, PhD or young alumnus (within three years after graduation) who has an innovative idea for an eHealth solution. The voucher, consisting of an amount of 5,000 euros, is made possible by the Niers Fund, a Named Fund of the University Fund Twente. The voucher is awarded in collaboration with the Department of Biomedical Signals and Systems of the University of Twente and the eHealth cluster of Roessingh Research and Development.
The aim of the voucher is to stimulate new ideas for innovative eHealth solutions. Participants can submit an idea or a prototype, with an explanation of the impact for care or patient, the goal, the operation, the technical feasibility and the expected market potential. The prize must be used by the winner as 'seed money' to further the idea. In addition to the cash prize, it will be examined - in consultation with the winner - how the UT can support the winner with hours, materials and workspace. So that the winning idea can be developed into a prototype (e.g. in the Design Lab) or the winning prototype can be evaluated and tested (supervised by a researcher).
Who is Mr. J.L.M. Niers?
Mr. J.L.M. Niers was Queen's Commissioner (CdK) from May 15 1972 to July 1 1988. A born and raised ‘Tukker’, Niers was a teacher and lawyer in Hengelo and politically active as a KVP/CDA councilor, member of parliament and senator. He was the first deputy for the province to become Queen's Commissioner in his own province. At his request, upon his retirement as CdK, a fund was established to finance the endowed chair of Neuromuscular Control at the University of Twente. This chair was set up in collaboration with the rehabilitation center Het Roessingh in Enschede and placed with the Twente University Fund. In 2021, the Niers Fund has decided to convert the annual contribution to the chair into an eHealth Voucher to be awarded annually.
2023 winner
The DiaBook devised by UT student (Creative Technology) Floor Lieverse is an interactive audiobook to support healthy lifestyles in people with low health literacy and Type 2 Diabetes. She was presented with the Niers Fund eHealth Voucher worth €5000 at the TechMed event held on 1 November.
Recent research shows that one in four people in the Netherlands have difficulty obtaining, understanding, and evaluating health-related information, which is known as low health literacy (LHL). Having LHL can lead to poorly informed health-related decisions and negative health outcomes. In the Netherlands, more than 10 million people have been diagnosed with one or more chronic diseases. For this reason, it is very important to offer effective self-management support, particularly for people with LHL.
You can read the full news article here.
Jury
- The jury consists of the following persons:
- Mr Ir. N. (Nico) Versteeg, chairman, general manager province of Overijssel
- Ms. dr. s. (Sabine) Mulders, director-manager Roessingh Research & Development
- Mr. dr. B.J. (Boony) Thio, pediatric pulmonologist and innovation ambassador MST
- Ms. dr. O. (Olga) Meulenbroek, Strategic Intelligence Advisor Menzis
- Mr. T. (Tim) de Kraker, business developer Novel-T
- Ms. prof. dr. ir. M.C. (Mascha) van der Voort (CT&M, PhD '01), Full professor Human Centred Design, University of Twente
- Ms. dr. ir. M. (Monique) Tabak, associate professor Biomedical Signals and Systems, University of Twente
Criteria & sign up
It is therefore about registering an innovative idea for an eHealth solution.
Who can compete for the voucher?
- UT students, bachelor or master
- UT alumni, provided they graduated no longer than 3 years ago at the time of the deadline
- UT PhDs, provided their idea is not the (main) subject of their PhD research
What requirements must the proposal for an eHealth solution meet? The proposal must be properly explained, substantiating that:
- the idea is new and innovative
- the idea has an impact on society (for which patients is it relevant?)
- the idea will be accepted in society and by patients (high tech, human touch)
- the idea is technically feasible
- the idea has 'market potential' (no 'technology push')
Procedure
- The proposals will be assessed by a jury led by Nico Versteeg on behalf of the province of Overijssel.
- The jury nominates a winner. This is formally submitted to the board of the University Fund Twente for adoption.
Schedule 2024
- Registrations open on the 1st of June 2024
- Pre-registration: as soon as possible, but before the 1st of August 2024
- September 1st: submission deadline
- Week 37: jury deliberation
- September: request further information about the number of potential winners
- October: determine the winner
- November: award ceremony during TechMed Event at the UT
Sign Up
Are you considering to submit a proposal, please let us know by mail as soon as possible, but no later than August 1st. Send your proposal before September 1, 2024 to: Karen Wannyn (K.Wannyn@utwente.nl)