We are delighted to announce that Francesca Barisani, EIT Deep Tech Talent Initiative Chief of Outreach, will be hosting a panel session called “Academia and Industry in health: Best practices to bridge the gap” at the 5th WorkInHealth Career Fair taking place online on 22-23 May.
WorkInHealth Career Fair
The WorkInHealth Career Fair is a pan-European online event connecting talents to recruiters to remediate the healthcare sector talent crunch. The 4th edition held in 2023, brought together 970+ talents from all over Europe and 50+ companies, from big industrial groups to start-ups, actively recruiting from Digital Health, MedTech and Biotech, resulting in 370+ 1-to-1 meetings between talents and recruiters.
The fair was created based on the idea that the future sustainability and growth of the sector is highly dependent on the ability to attract, upskill, retain and reskill talent. Although talent shortages exist across the board, there are particular skillsets where new and emerging roles are leading to exponential demand such as in digital, commercial, and innovation settings.
Organisers
The WorkInHealth Career Fair is being organised by EIT Health, a ‘knowledge and innovation community’ (KIC) of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) that focuses on health and aging, and the WorkInHealth Foundation, a venture initiated by EIT Health that addresses the evident and growing skills and talent gaps within the healthcare industry across Europe.
Academia and industry in health: Best practices to bridge the gap
Bridging the gap between academia and industry is vital for transferring knowledge, fostering innovation, and driving economic growth. Additionally, by working together, academia and industry can create long-term partnerships that enables the practical application of cutting-edge research to solve real-world problems, while also ensuring that educational programs align with industry needs.
The panel session organised by the EIT Deep Tech Talent Initiative and led by Francesca has gathered four university and industry representatives from our Pledger Community:
- Karolina Konkolewska, Head of Talent Acquisition – EMEA, Intel Corporation, Poland
- Ebba Fahråeus, Ceo, SmiLe Venture Hub, Lund, Sweden (SmiLe is a leading venture hub that specializes in advancing life science startups from concept to commercialisation)
- Neil Fergusson, Head of Entrepreneuriial Ideas Lab, University of Galway, Ireland
- Vicente Traver Salcedo, R&D Manager at Technologies for Health and Wellbeing – ITACA, Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain
The session begins at 11:30 CET and lasts for 40 minutes including 10 minutes for Q&As.
Initially, the discussion will address the main challenges researchers face when moving from academia to entrepreneurship, emphasizing the balance between technical skills and the development of interpersonal and management abilities. It will then examine how to upskill and reskill the workforce to meet the evolving job market demands, and the role of alternative education programs like coding bootcamps in quickly preparing individuals for industry roles. Additionally, it will identify the biggest challenges in attracting and retaining talent in the industry ecosystem, and explore trends and opportunities for academia-industry collaboration in the health sector. The role of incubators in supporting the transition from academia to entrepreneurship and forecasting the critical skills needed for future entrepreneurs will also be discussed. Overall, the aim is to provide insights and strategies for effectively bridging the gap between academic research and industry practice, fostering innovation and collaboration in the health sector.
If you would like to find out more about the Career Fair, or register as a talent or recruiter, please visit the WorkInHealth Career Fair website here: https://eithealth.eu/event/workinhealth-career-fair-5th-edition/
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