ATiC Symposium 2022: Accelerating Innovation in Health and Wellbeing Event

The University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s (UWTSD) Assistive Technologies Innovation Centre (ATiC) will hold its second symposium on Thursday, October 13, on the theme of Accelerating Innovation in Health and Wellbeing.

The free event will take place from 9:30am until 5pm in-person at Swansea’s Dylan Thomas Centre and will also be live-streamed at https://youtu.be/vNTXw3dG750. 

 The ATiC Symposium 2022 will reflect on the impact and legacy of the ground-breaking Accelerate Wales programme, showcasing how Wales is accelerating innovation through NHS and academic collaboration, and empowering patients through user-centred research and technology innovation.

ATiC’s partners in Accelerate, which is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through Welsh Government, are Cardiff University’s Clinical Innovation Accelerator (CIA), Swansea University’s Healthcare Technology Centre (HTC), and Life Sciences Hub Wales, which leads the programme.  Hywel Dda University Health Board and its TriTech Institute, of which ATiC and HTC are key academic partners, will also join with Accelerate for this Symposium.

The event will highlight how Accelerate has generated new collaborative opportunities and partnerships across sectors and institutions.  It will also look to the future, as this phase of the Accelerate programme draws to a close at the end of December 2022.

Keynote speakers opening the event will include Professor Philip Kloer, Executive Medical Director and Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Hywel Dda University Health Board.

Session One will include joint presentations from leaders of the four Accelerate partner organisations and their respective case study enterprises.

Sessions Two and Three will include presentations from Professor Chris Hopkins, Head of Innovation and the TriTech Institute, Hywel Dda University Health Board, and Clinical (Science) Director, ATIC, UWTSD; Professor Alka S Ahuja, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, and National Clinical Lead, TEC Cymru; Dr Lorna Tasker, Head of Rehabilitation Engineering, Swansea Bay University Health Board; and from industry, Marcus Ineson, Chief Marketing Officer of NGPOD Global, and Jackie Crooks, Chief Commercial Officer of Kinsetsu Ltd.

Session Four will be an open discussion on next steps from a UK and international context for future healthcare challenges and working with commercial partners.

The discussion will be chaired by Cari-Anne Quinn, Chief Executive Officer of Life Sciences Hub Wales; with Dafydd Evans, Deputy Director of Life Sciences and Innovation, Health and Social Services Group, Welsh Government; and Professor Keir Lewis, Clinical Lead, TriTech Institute, Hywel Dda University Health Board and Medical Director, Respiratory Innovation Wales.

Professor Medwin Hughes, DL, Vice-Chancellor of UWTSD, who will open the Symposium, said: “The University is delighted to be hosting this prestigious conference which aims to showcase the cutting-edge innovation and research which has been achieved via the Accelerate programme. 

“It is an example of how collaboration between the university and healthcare sectors can deliver real benefits and better outcomes for patients as well as drive economic growth. This collaborative and applied approach is central to the University’s research and innovation strategy.”

Professor Ian Walsh, UWTSD Provost Swansea and Cardiff, and ATiC Director, said: “The real-world impact of ATiC and its Accelerate partners can be seen in the sheer number of enterprises supported to grow and develop their businesses. It highlights the vital role that universities play in driving innovation in Wales and in securing our future prosperity.”

Dr Sean Jenkins, UWTSD Associate Professor and ATiC Research Director, said: “This second ATiC symposium builds on the success of our inaugural event in 2019, and reflects on the impact and legacy of Accelerate and celebrates the new and emerging partnerships and collaborations we are forging to drive forward research, development and innovation in health and wellbeing.

“We look forward to welcoming delegates from Welsh Government, health boards, enterprise, and academia, for what promises to be an exciting, thought-provoking event – reflecting on what has already been achieved and what is yet to come.”

Cari-Anne Quinn, Chief Executive Officer of Life Sciences Hub Wales, which leads the Accelerate programme, said: “The Accelerate programme has been an important part of Life Sciences Hub Wales' mission to make Wales the place of choice for healthcare innovation. The partnerships developed between academia, industry, and health and social care through this programme will continue to deliver benefits for many years to come.

“Life Sciences Hub Wales recently published an Impact Report that celebrates the success of the Accelerate programme. The report highlights how Accelerate has supported start-ups and SMEs in accelerating the development and adoption of new technology, products and services in health and social care systems across Wales.” Read the report here…

Professor Chris Hopkins, Head of Innovation and the TriTech Institute, Hywel Dda University Health Board, and ATiC Clinical (Science) Director, UWTSD, said: “Several developments over recent years demonstrate what true collaboration can deliver across the region and across Wales. An example of this is the close partnership we have developed with the Assistive Technologies Innovation Centre (ATiC) and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD), together with the Healthcare Technology Centre (HTC) within Swansea University.

“We will present a number of case studies where the NHS, commercial partners and academia have worked together to develop new and novel technologies and innovations. These partnerships exemplify how health boards, academia and industry can work in partnership to develop and test innovations for improved patient outcomes. These partnerships are one of equals that focus entirely on contributing and improving the health and wellbeing of the people in Wales.”

For further information on the Symposium and tickets, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/symposiwm-atic-symposium-2022-tickets-401151975357.

Accelerate is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Welsh Funding Office (WEFO), Welsh Government’s Health and Social Services group, universities, Life Science Hub Wales, and the health boards; the ultimate aim of Accelerate is to create lasting economic value for Wales.

Note to Editor

ATiC Symposium 2022 Speakers:

Welcome

• Professor Ian Walsh, Provost Swansea and Cardiff, and ATiC Director, UWTSD.
• Professor Medwin Hughes, Vice-Chancellor, UWTSD.
• Professor Philip Kloer, Executive Medical Director and Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Hywel Dda University Health Board.

Session 1: Accelerate programme – Its impact and future.

• Life Sciences Hub Wales - Gareth Healey, Programme Lead for Precision Medicine and Head of Accelerate; Christopher Jones, Partnership Development Manager, and Azize Naji, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Goggleminds.
• Clinical Innovation Accelerator (CIA) – Professor Ian Weeks OBE, Dean of Clinical Innovation, Cardiff University, and Peter Bishop, Founder of Agile Kinetic Ltd.
• Healthcare Technology Centre (HTC) – Professor Keith Lloyd, Executive Dean and Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science, Swansea University, and Jordan Copner, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Copner Biotech.
• Assistive Technologies Innovation Centre (ATiC) - Dr Sean Jenkins, Associate Professor and ATiC Research Director, UWTSD, and Gethin Roberts, Chief Executive Officer, ITERATE Design and Innovation Ltd.

Session 2: Accelerating Innovation through collaboration.

• Professor Chris Hopkins, Head of Innovation and the TriTech Institute, Hywel Dda University Health Board, and Clinical (Science) Director, ATIC, UWTSD.
• Marcus Ineson, Chief Marketing Officer, NGPOD Global.
• Jackie Crooks, Chief Commercial Officer, Kinsetsu Ltd.
• Dr Matthew Lawrence, Research Associate, TriTech Institute, Hywel Dda University Health Board.

Session 3: Accelerating Innovation by empowering patients through technology.

• Professor Keir Lewis, Clinical Lead, TriTech Institute, Hywel Dda University Health Board, and Medical Director, Respiratory Innovation Wales.
• Billy Woods, Clinical Scientist, TriTech Institute, Hywel Dda University Health Board.
• Dr Jane M Mullins, Researcher, Awen Institute, Swansea University.
• Professor Alka S Ahuja, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, and National Clinical Lead, TEC Cymru.
• Dr Lorna Tasker, Head of Rehabilitation Engineering, Swansea Bay University Health Board.

Session 4: Setting the national and international context for future healthcare challenges. (An open discussion on next steps.)

• (Chair) Cari-Anne Quinn, Chief Executive Officer, Life Sciences Hub Wales.
• Dafydd Evans, Deputy Director of Life Sciences and Innovation, Health and Social Services Group, Welsh Government.
• Professor Keir Lewis, Clinical Lead, TriTech Institute, Hywel Dda University Health Board. Medical Director, Respiratory Innovation Wales.

Plenary session and closing remarks

• Professor Ian Walsh, Provost Swansea and Cardiff, and ATiC Director.

ATiC is an integrated research centre which puts user-centred thinking and strategic innovation tools into practice through its cutting-edge user experience (UX) and usability evaluation research facility located in Swansea’s Innovation Quarter in SA1.  Read more here…

ATiC has been shortlisted in this year’s Green Gown Awards UK and Ireland, in November 2022, in the Benefitting Society category, for its innovative research collaboration with Swansea-based enterprise eHealth Digital Media Ltd.  Digital communications company eHealth Digital Media produce and deliver behavioural change content such as high-quality content information films through its established PocketMedic platform.

The Seeing dementia through their eyes (Living with Dementia) project involved research by the ATiC team over a period of just over a year to inform a series of 10 new films from eHealth Digital Media.  The films, about the daily lives and challenges of people living with dementia, focus on delivering support, training, and education for dementia patients, their families, carers, and healthcare professionals.  Read more here…

Further Information

Bethan Evans

ATiC Project Officer, Marketing and Communications

Assistive Technologies Innovation Centre (ATiC)

University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD)

Technium 1, Kings Road, Swansea, SA1 8PH.

Email: bethan.evans@uwtsd.ac.uk