Health innovation focus at Inverness Campus event

More than 50 people interested in health technology development attended Health Innovation Day at Inverness Campus this week (Wednesday 14 June).

Co-hosted by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), NHS Highland and the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI), the event took place at the new Life Science Innovation Centre (LSIC) at Inverness Campus.

It brought together people involved in providing clinical and innovation support, business, government agencies, academia and others who work in health and science innovation.

The event highlighted opportunities for those looking to develop health innovation in the Highlands and Islands such as regional expertise, infrastructure, funding and services available from organisations including HIE, NHS Highland and UHI.

A speed-networking activity provided a popular way for delegates to get to know each other before having longer networking sessions and one-to-one meetings with innovation experts.

The day included visits to the new NHS National Treatment Centre – Highland, and the high-tech laboratories at LSIC, a £9.5 million partnership project between UHI and HIE that provides facilities for businesses to work collaboratively with academia on innovative life sciences projects.

April Conroy, senior development manager at HIE, said:

“New and significant developments at Inverness Campus are supporting the continued growth of the region’s life science sector by encouraging collaboration, knowledge exchange and business-led innovation.

“The Health Innovation Day was an important event for bringing together professionals who work on product and service innovation in the health and care sector. The host partners were keen to meet businesses, stakeholders and individuals to explore the opportunities that exist across the Highlands and Islands.  A successful sector will have an important role to play in the future well-being of society. We are excited to have growing enterprises, who create high skills jobs and exciting career opportunities, as well as developing future solutions from our region.”

Morgane Artacho, Project Manager in Health Innovation at UHI said:

“The Health Innovation Day has been a fantastic opportunity to showcase UHI’s strengths in health research. The Life Sciences Innovation Centre is home to active health, medical nanotechnology as well as free radical and redox research.

“Our genetics and immunology team is also based nearby on the Inverness Campus, which is close to other colleagues working in rural health and wellbeing. Our expertise and facilities in these areas will continue to inspire discoveries and improvements in healthcare thanks to increasing collaboration with companies and NHS Highland.

“The event participants experienced an exciting preview of the world-leading research that is being undertaken around antimicrobial nanocoatings, which will lead to breakthroughs in antimicrobial surfaces for healthcare applications such as touch surfaces and medical devices.”

The Life Sciences Innovation Centre is funded by the UK Government through the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal, and part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.