DATE & TIME
1 October 2026, 09:00 – 10:30
TRACKS
TRACK 4: Living Labs for Business and Emerging Technology
ROOM
Marble
TYPE OF SESSION
Topic Debate
Description
Companies make use of Living Lab services to support them in their innovation process towards impactful innovations for the healthcare sector. In this session, we inform the audience about the takeaways and the added value from funding programs that offer Living Lab services with a specific focus on healthcare innovation. We share learnings and discuss viable service model(s), added value and impact of Living Lab services.
Agenda
| Timeslot | Item | Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 – 09:05 | Setting the scene | Vicky Van der Auwera (LiCalab) |
| 09:05 – 09:15 | Short introduction of the moderator and speakers | Vicky Van der Auwera (LiCalab) |
| 09:15 – 09:35 | 6 presentations: Good practice project Vitalise / AccelUp (AUTH) Good practice project Evolve2Care / AccelUp (ENoLL) Accelerator services imec istart (imec) Good practice project CrossCare (LiCalab) Good practice project ACE (RISE & BAX Company) | Despoina Petsani and Evdokimos Konstantinidis (AUTH) Koen Vervoort / Giulia Campodonico (ENoLL) Dimitri Schuurman (imec) Ingrid Adriaensen (LiCalab) Camilla Evensson (RISE) David Chadima (BAX Company) |
| 09:35 – 09:45 | Interaction with the audience and Q&A | All |
| 09:45 – 10:05 | Panel discussions (focus on learnings and role of the Living Labs) Reflection on answers/opinions given to the questions Open questions from the audience | Despoina Petsani and Evdokimos Konstantinidis (AUTH) Koen Vervoort / Giulia Campodonico (ENoLL) Dimitri Schuurman (imec) Ingrid Adriaensen (LiCalab) Camilla Evensson (RISE) David Chadima (BAX Company) |
| 10:05 – 10:15 | Key takeaways from the audience and thank you | All |
Speakers
Vicky Van der Auwera
Research Manager, LiCalab
Vicky Van der Auwera
Research Manager, LiCalabVicky holds a Master’s degree in Engineering Sciences from Brussels University Belgium, where she graduated as civil mechanical-electrical engineer and worked several years in private sector in the area of machine design and construction. Since 2012, she is Research Manager and co-founder of LiCalab (Living and Care lab), responsible for day-to-day management and strategy. Vicky has an extensive experience in leading cross border projects and activities with EU living labs (e. g. H2020 Vitalise-project, Horizon Europe DiCE-project, Interreg CrossCare-project.) LiCalab is an effective member of the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) and is member of the Living Lab Harmonization Working Group, that focuses on harmonising and standardising the methods and tools used by Living Labs.
Ingrid Adriaensen
Business Manager, LiCalab
Ingrid Adriaensen
Business Manager, LiCalabIngrid combines an academic background in business management and communication with extensive experience in international business development, strategy, and innovation. Since 2016, she has been contributing to the development of LiCalab, a research group and Living Lab within Thomas More University of Applied Sciences. At LiCalab she supports and manages innovation projects in healthcare and social care. Her work focuses on facilitating collaboration between companies, healthcare organisations, knowledge institutions, and end users to translate innovative ideas into real-world impact. She is passionate about leveraging Living Lab methodologies to ensure that healthcare innovations are inclusive, accessible, and aligned with the needs of citizens and care providers.
Helena Pérez
Integration Manager, Alimara Living Lab (CETT-UB, University of Barcelona)
Helena Pérez
Integration Manager, Alimara Living Lab (CETT-UB, University of Barcelona)Helena Pérez serves as Integration Manager at the Alimara Living Lab (CETT-UB, University of Barcelona), where she works on bridging the gap between academia and industry at Europe's first university hotel. In this role, she designs and leads real-world projects at the intersection of education, innovation, and hospitality — including initiatives that have served as the basis for applied research. Her Master's thesis, which drew on one such project, was recognised with the Best Thesis Award in Spain by RedIntur Icarion 2025. She is also a Lecturer, Researcher and Academic Coordinator at EUHT CETT-UB, where she is a member of the GRATiR Research Group and coordinates postgraduate programmes in hospitality and revenue management. Her areas of expertise include hotel innovation, customer experience, strategic management, and the integration of technology within tourism businesses and services. She holds a degree in Tourism and Hotel Management, and a Master's in Tourism Project Development and Launch with a mention in Business and Experience Digitalisation.
Koen Vervoort
Senior Stakeholder Strategist, ENoLL
Koen Vervoort
Senior Stakeholder Strategist, ENoLLHelping Living Labs since 2006 @i-City, IBBT, iMinds, City of Thing, iMec as Stakeholder engagement specialist and now as a Senior Stakeholder Strategist at ENoLL, building bridges and opportunities for all members and interested parties. With nearby 20 years of experience in User Involvement, Panel Management and Stakeholder Engagement, Koen is constantly trying to strengthen the Living Lab community around the globe.
Dimitri Schuurman
Senior Research Strategist, ENoLL
Dimitri Schuurman
Senior Research Strategist, ENoLLDimitri is a university business developer at research group imec-MICT-Ghent University where he is responsible for research on inclusive design, impact via Living Labs, and futures studies, all in the context of emerging technologies. He is a visiting professor of strategic design and innovation management at Ghent University and works part-time for the European Network of Living Labs as Senior Research Strategist. His PhD on innovation management in Living Labs developed a three-layered model that is widely used in Living Lab research and practice. Finally, Dimitri is active as an independent consultant in open innovation, user innovation and strategic innovation management.
David Chadima
Healthcare Innovation Manager, Bax Company
David Chadima
Healthcare Innovation Manager, Bax CompanyDavid Chadima is an Innovation Manager at Bax Company, based in Barcelona. His work sits where healthcare and homecare technologies meet real care settings, with a focus on how promising solutions actually get piloted, adopted and scaled rather than left as prototypes. He speaks on behalf of ACE, the Interreg North Sea project that spent 3,5 years accelerating the uptake of homecare technologies for older adults across six countries. ACE put technologies into the hands of care workers, providers and older adults, tested them in day-to-day care, and gathered honest feedback on what worked, what got in the way, and what it takes to make adoption stick. David's contribution centred on translating that hands-on pilot experience into practical guidance for care organisations and decision-makers, and on drawing out the conditions that let homecare innovation take hold in real life rather than only in trials. That interest in moving from pilot to lasting practice runs through his wider work. He leads DigiH4A, which works with digital health SMEs to open reimbursement pathways and build trust between providers and patients, two of the barriers that most often keep good technologies from reaching patients at scale. He has co-authored a report on how digital health SMEs navigate reimbursement across the EU, and has presented on EU-wide homecare implementation on the international stage. He brings a view of what real-world implementation actually demands. Close work with end users, attention to the everyday realities of care, and a clear eye on the systemic conditions, from funding to trust, that decide whether a technology is used briefly or becomes part of everyday care.
Despoina Petsani
Research Associate, Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation, AUTH
Despoina Petsani
Research Associate, Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation, AUTHDespoina Petsani received her MSc in Medical Informatics and diploma in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. She is Research Associate in the Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation, School of Medicine of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and serves as Chief Innovation Officer at Xeeti. Her expertise lies in decision support systems, AI-driven digital health solutions and Living Labs. She has worked extensively with SMEs, academia, and international consortia, excelling in proposal writing, project management, and user-centered research and innovation. Since 2017, she has led and contributed to numerous EU-funded projects, including VITALISE (H2020), where she coordinated Living Lab harmonization process and the EVOLVE2CARE Horizon Europe project where she is Mission Coordinator. She is co-chairing the ENoLL Living Lab Harmonization Working Group and the ENoLL Health & Wellbeing Working Group. She was also member of the Organizing Committee of the Health and Wellbeing Living Lab Symposium 2024 and 2025.
Evdokimos Konstantinidis
Assistant Professor, Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Evdokimos Konstantinidis
Assistant Professor, Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation at Aristotle University of ThessalonikiEvdokimos Konstantinidis is an Assistant Professor in Digital, Technological and Open Innovation in Health at the Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He is Vice-Chair of the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL) and served as Chair from 2021 to 2024. He is coordinator of the ENoLL Health and Wellbeing Living Labs Working Group and his research interests lie predominately in Living Lab methodologies combined with agile aspects in the Health and Wellbeing domain, Open Science and Data Management as well as technological interventions in the field of healthcare. He is currently coordinating Horizon Europe projects on services for the European Open Science Cloud and on innovation experimentation frameworks through Living Labs. He has successfully coordinated the VITALISE project, aiming to harmonize the procedures and ICT tools of the Health and Wellbeing Living Labs, towards creating an open ecosystem for the European researchers.
Camilla Evensson
Head of Group Data-driven Society and Health, RISE Research Institute of Sweden
Camilla Evensson
Head of Group Data-driven Society and Health, RISE Research Institute of SwedenCamilla is the manager of RISE´s focus area Future Health and Care that aims to mobilize diverse stakeholders in society to innovate health and care with technology, collaboration and solutions from a systems´ perspective. She has experience in working with cross-disciplinary partnerships with stakeholders like trade and industry, public sector, civil society and end users. She is leading initiatives with a focus on complex societal challenges e.g. the demographicdevelopment, technology test and implementation. Camilla is the lead manager of the Interreg North Sea region project ACE, she is also part of the executive board in ECTP Built4Life.