From October 8-10, 2024, the first Future Health Conference Porto offered a platform for exploring the evolving landscape of health and care. Organized by the Competence Centre on Active and Healthy Ageing at the University of Porto (Porto4Ageing), the event attracted around 100 participants, including innovators, leaders, and professionals from health, care, technology, and education sectors.
The conference featured a diverse range of activities, including roundtables, presentation and discussion panels, workshops, and much more. These sessions facilitated lively discussions and collaborations, addressing key challenges and opportunities in the health and care ecosystem.
Another significant aspect of the event was the opportunity for innovators to showcase their solutions, with pitches and matchmaking sessions between entrepreneurs and investors.
Theme Overview
The conference was structured around a different theme each day:
- Day 1: Focused on “Education and Co-creation in Health”.
- Day 2: Addressed “Technologies and Digital Health – AI, Virtual Reality, Smart Health”.
- Day 3: Featured a session from EIT Health’s Morning Health Talks and highlighted Open Innovation.
SHIFT-HUB: Fostering Innovation and Entrepreneurship
As a key partner of the event, SHIFT-HUB played a prominent role in several activities, including organizing the Entrepreneurial Discovery Workshop and facilitating a session during the Demo Days and Matchmaking event. The event concluded with a Project Partner Meeting, which furthered the collaboration between partners.
Workshop Focus: Exploring Northern Portugal's Opportunities for Smart Health
One of the key events during the conference was the Exploring Northern Portugal’s Opportunities for Smart Health workshop, promoted by SHIFT-HUB. The panel featured prominent figures in the field, included Bárbara Macedo, Knowledge Transfer manager at i3S, Lídia Fonseca, Life Sciences/Biotechnology Innovation consultant, Ricardo Moura, co-founder and CEO at Gripwise Tech, and Ângela Carvalho, co-founder and CEO of BEAT Therapeutics.
Focus on the market: advice for start-ups from SHIFT-HUB’s workshop
The Entrepreneurial Discovery Workshop provided valuable insights for start-ups. A key takeaway was the critical importance of market validation for a product’s success.
According to Miguel Botto, Director of Portugal Ventures, securing funding from private investors, or “smart money,” can offer validation that grants alone do not. “When an investor or industry player is willing to invest in your project, it signals that the market believes in you,” he explained. While grants are attractive, they only provide partial support, Botto emphasized.
In line with this, Maria Oliveira, Business Director at UPTEC (Science and Technology Park of the University of Porto), stressed the need for greater corporate involvement in the process of science and technology translation. She highlighted key stages such as research, technology transfer, incubation, and funding, and pointed out that a stronger corporate presence could enhance support at different stages of start-up development.
Although private funding was emphasized, Ana Rita Pinto, National Contact Point for Health in Horizon Europe and Digital Europe Programme, reminded the audience of the accessible opportunities available through European funding, for example for launching new ideas. Pinto acknowledged that public funding in Portugal can be more challenging, citing late fund transfers as a significant hurdle for start-ups. Maria Oliveira also pointed to bureaucratic processes as another barrier to accessing state funding.
