News – Page 2 – Evolve2Care

EVOLVE2CARE at the 1st Morning Health Talk in Athens

On June 2, 2025, EVOLVE2CARE was proudly represented at the 1st Morning Health Talk – Greece, held at the National Documentation Centre in Athens. The event was organized by EIT Health Greece under the theme: “Co-Creating Health Innovation Ecosystems: Empowering Providers and Citizens Beyond Financial Incentives.”

Evdokimos Konstantinidis, Project Coordinator of EVOLVE2CARE (AUTH Medical Physics & Digital Innovation Lab), delivered a talk highlighting the role of Living Labs in advancing healthcare innovation. His presentation focused on how Living Labs can drive healthcare innovation by supporting care transitions, empowering caregivers, and enabling real-world clinical research through open, co-creative ecosystems.

The event brought together digital health experts, care providers, researchers, and policymakers, fostering dialogue around inclusive, user-driven innovation in healthcare.

EVOLVE2CARE’s presence at the event reinforced its mission to foster co-creation and user-driven innovation in Transitional Care, underscoring the role of Living Labs in advancing healthcare innovation.

Training programs to support Innovators & Living Labs

Building on EVOLVE2CARE’s ongoing commitment to fostering collaboration between innovators and Living Labs, we are excited to announce the launch of two tailored training programs. The former program targets HealthTech innovators and researchers, equipping them with the necessary tools and knowledge to successfully commercialize their research and bring innovations to market. The latter is specifically designed for Living Labs, aiming to enhance their capacity to support innovators and strengthen their role in the development and testing of HealthTech solutions.

As the Open Call is actively inviting HealthTech innovators and Living Labs to collaborate on innovative solutions for Transitional Care (Task 2.2 – LLs, Innovators, and Researchers Scouting and Selection), EVOLVE2CARE is taking the next step by offering educational support. Through Task 2.3 – Training Program for Living Labs and Task 2.4 – Training Program for Innovators and Researchers, we are ensuring that both innovators and Living Labs are well-prepared for successful collaboration.

Training Program for Innovators and Researchers (T2.4)

This six-part Training Program, named “From Users to Market – Faster Validation and Commercialisation for HealthTech Innovators and Researchers” and leb by Anthology Ventures, will give innovators and researchers the tools, skills, and mindset needed to navigate the complex journey from lab to market.

Each session builds practical know-how in agile innovation, systems thinking, and stakeholder collaboration—while real startup founders share insights on fundraising and commercialization. Whether you’re prototyping, pitching, or scaling, this program guides your journey to real-world impact.

This program is ideal for researchers, early-stage innovators, and knowledge transfer professionals seeking to accelerate the journey from health tech research to real-world impact.

1️⃣Accelerating Innovation — Leveraging LLMs & No-Code for Rapid Prototyping | 12 June, 2025 | ️15:00 CEST

Description: This session explores how large language models (LLMs) and No-Code platforms are revolutionizing early-stage innovation. Participants will learn how to quickly transform ideas into interactive prototypes, generate user personas, draft product requirements, and create testable concepts without writing a single line of code.

2️⃣Design Thinking in Action — A Living Lab Approach to Healthtech Innovation |19 June, 2025 | 15:00 CEST

3️⃣Building a Sustainable HealthTech Business — A Founder’s Journey | 17 July, 2025 | ️ 15:00 CEST

Description: In this session, participants will hear directly from a founder who turned a bold idea into a validated, mission-driven business. This session goes beyond theory to offer an honest look at the business model decisions, revenue hurdles, cost surprises, and strategic pivots that shaped their journey.

4️⃣Unlocking IP Value — Protection, Collaboration & AI Innovations | 24 July, 2025 |15:00 CEST

Description: This session breaks down the core types of IP (patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets) with a special focus on HealthTech and AI-driven innovation. Participants will learn how to identify what aspects of their product are protectable, how to avoid common pitfalls, and how to turn their IP strategy into a competitive advantage.

5️⃣Fundraising & Pitching Strategies — An Investor’s Guide for Innovators | 4 September, 2025 | 15:00 CEST

Description: In this session, a managing partner from Anthology Ventures will walk the participants through how to build a funding strategy that aligns with their goals, stage of development, and long-term vision. They will learn how to identify which investor types—angel, VC, corporate, or impact—are right for them, and how to approach them with clarity and confidence.

6️⃣Measuring Impact & Scaling Pilots — Driving Evidence-Based Growth in Living Labs | 19 September, 2025 | 15:00 CEST

Description: In this final session, we explore how innovators can measure meaningful outcomes, not just outputs, and use data to drive sustainable growth. Participants will learn how to define success through SMART metrics, design robust pilot evaluations, and generate the evidence that funders, policymakers, and partners look for.

EVOLVE2CARE encourages all interested stakeholders to take advantage of these opportunities to enhance collaboration and strengthen innovation in the healthcare sector.

Training Program for Living Labs (Task 2.3)

This six-part training program, named “Trainings on Service Design for Living Labs” and led by European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL), will provide participants with the tools and knowledge to support innovators in evaluating experimental outcomes and commercializing research effectively.

By adopting a structured, service design-based approach, you will learn to develop sustainable services, navigate legal and ethical challenges, and enhance stakeholder engagement. Ultimately, this will ensure a smoother transition from research to the market.

These sessions are designed for Living Lab managers and coordinators, researchers, innovators, teams establishing new Living Labs, technology transfer professionals, and policymakers involved in innovation ecosystems.

Topics per session:

The Role of Living Labs in the Innovation Ecosystem | June 25, 2025 |15:00 CEST

Description: This session provides an overview of the current innovation ecosystem and examines the strategic role of Living Labs in driving open innovation. It will highlight Living Labs’ contribution to societal and economic growth.

Designing Tailored Living Lab Services for Innovators | July 9, 2025 | 15:00 CEST

Description: This session introduces service design and explores the process of creating tailored services within Living Labs to effectively support innovators and their specific needs.

Navigating Legal, Ethical & Regulatory Frameworks | August 27, 2025 | 15:00 CEST

Description: This session approaches the ethical, legal and regulatory frameworks, explores the sector-specific compliance and engages with regulatory bodies.

Building Innovation Networks: Communication and Engagement | September 3, 2025 | 15:00 CEST

Description: This session focuses on the importance of building strong innovation networks and effective stakeholder engagement within Living Labs. Participants will learn how to engage stakeholders in service design, with a particular focus on the AccelUp platform.

Certification & Standardization of Living Labs | September 10, 2025 | 15:00 CEST

Description: This session explores the essential requirements for a Living Lab to achieve certification. Participants will learn about the benefits of certification, and international recognition.

Measuring Impact & Evaluating Success | September 24, 2025 | 15:00 CEST

Description: This session focuses on identifying key performance indicators (KPIs) to track the performance of Living Lab services. Participants will explore methods to evaluate service design and measure its impact and performance.

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EVOLVE2CARE at Cluj Innovation Days 2025

On May 29, 2025, Vassilis Voulgarakis from ViLabs represented the EVOLVE2CARE project at Cluj Innovation Days 2025, held at Babeș-Bolyai University (BBU) in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. This flagship annual event, under the theme “Transforming Healthcare through Technology: Ethical, Human-Centric, and AI-Driven Solutions,” focused on digital transformation in the MedTech sector.

As a speaker in the panel “Bridging Research, Technology, and Healthcare,” Vassilis discussed the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in creating patient-centric, tech-enabled healthcare solutions. In addition to his speech, Vassilis gave an interview to local media, to explain how EVOLVE2CARE is looking to foster new collaboration opportunities for HealthTech innovation across Europe, bringing together researchers, startups, and innovators with Living Labs.

Vassilis also engaged in seven targeted B2B matchmaking meetings, where he presented the EVOLVE2CARE Open Call opportunity to startups and innovators. The matchmaking sessions, also, provided a platform to meet with startups, innovators, and fellow project managers, discussing potential synergies and knowledge exchange opportunities relevant to our project’s objective.

Cluj Innovation Days 2025 event MedTech news & events

EVOLVE2CARE x GILL: Expanding our gender-informed policy

Following our insightful mini-webinar in March 2025, EVOLVE2CARE is excited to highlight the next phase of the collaboration with the GILL – Gendered Innovation Living Labs, a Horizon Europe project. This time, we extended our efforts to the entire GILL consortium during their 5th consortium meeting, held on May 22, 2025.

This in-person meeting, focused on the final stages of the GILL project and its overall impact, allowed EVOLVE2CARE, represented by Konstantina Tsimpita from AUTH Medical Physics & Digital Innovation Lab, to join forces with GILL’s gender innovation experts in advancing a comprehensive Key Performance Indicators (KPI) framework to support gender-responsive innovation in healthcare, entrepreneurship, and innovation ecosystems.

A central topic of discussion was the expansion of the societal key indicators framework, focusing on key axes such as:

Gender-balanced participation
Inclusive co-creation and decision-making
Gender-aware design of solutions
Gender-sensitive impact evaluation

These KPIs aim to embed gender perspectives throughout the innovation lifecycle and healthcare development, helping to ensure that outcomes are not only effective but also equitable and socially responsive.

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EVOLVE2CARE at ELEVIT2025 in Athens

On May 23, 2025, EVOLVE2CARE participated in a dynamic session at the joint scientific event organized by ELEVIT and ELENEPY as part of ELEVIT2025 & the 2nd Panhellenic Conference of Physical Sciences in Health, held at the Wyndham Grand Athens, offering a stunning view of the Acropolis.

The panel titled “The Role of AI and Multivariate Data in Enhancing Transitional Care” was chaired by Evdokimos Konstantinidis, Project Coordinator of EVOLVE2CARE, and Despoina Petsani, a key member of the project coordination team (AUTH Medical Physics & Digital Innovation Lab). This session, held in synergy with the RAISE, DataPACT, and EVOLVE2CARE Horizon Europe projects, features OpenAIRE (a non-profit organization funded by Horizon 2020 to ensure a permanent open scholarly communication infrastructure to support European research). The panel discussion provided valuable insights into how AI and multivariate data can enhance decision-making, address challenges like data storage, access, and interoperability, and improve care quality in Transitional Care settings.

Panel talks included:

Evdokimos Konstantinidis: “From Sharing to Access: Leveraging Secondary Data in Transitional Care”
Despoina Petsani: “Living Labs as a Catalyst for Data Collection in Transitional Care”
Natalia Manola (OpenAIRE AMKE) – “Open Science, AI, and Data Interoperability: Unlocking the Potential of Multivariate Data in Healthcare”
Olga Galanets (International Data Spaces Association) – European Health Data Space: Legislative Framework

In addition to the panel, EVOLVE2CARE submitted a study titled “Understanding Barriers and Enablers of Innovation in Transitional Care: A Mixed-Methods Study” for consideration by the Award Committee. Authored by Ilektra Makridou, Despoina Petsani, Konstantina Tsimpita, David Gaburici, Panagiotis Bamidis, and Evdokimos Konstantinidis.

The study identified barriers such as financial strain and lack of follow-up, along with enablers of innovation in Transitional Care. It sparked discussions on the need for digital solutions to improve care coordination and support transitions. The study’s insights align with the EVOLVE2CARE KPI framework, particularly Task 1.1 (Drivers and Barriers for Innovation Development) and Task 1.2 (Definition of Stakeholders’ Requirements and KPI Framework). In addition, the study was showcased through a poster presentation, providing further visibility and validation of the project’s approach to key challenges in the field.

The event further solidified EVOLVE2CARE’s leadership role in advancing healthcare policy and collaboration across Europe’s digital health ecosystem, fostering synergies with fellow projects and encouraging dialogue between healthcare stakeholders.

Athens Conference ELEVIT2025 news & events

EVOLVE2CARE at ICIC25 in Lisbon

On Friday, 16 May 2025, EVOLVE2CARE was represented at the 2 5th International Conference on Integrated Care (ICIC25) in Lisbon, Portugal. The conference, held under the theme “Synergising Health and Care: Leveraging Integrated Care for a Sustainable Future,” brought together over 1,000 participants — including researchers, innovators, SMEs, policymakers, and end-users to explore strategies for building more cohesive and patient-centred health systems.

Despoina Petsani, from the EVOLVE2CARE project coordination team (AUTH Medical Physics & Digital Innovation Lab), presented a study titled “Transforming Transitional Care with Technology: Insights from the Greek Healthcare Landscape.” Her presentation shared findings from an exploratory mixed-methods study on the feasibility of integrating digital tools to improve care transitions in Greece.

Based on a mixed-methods study within the Greek health system, Despoina presented key findings highlighting the lack of structured post-discharge support, limited use of digital tools in discharge planning, and strong interest among professionals in improving care transitions through digital innovation.

These insights are closely aligned with the KPI framework developed within the EVOLVE2CARE project, particularly under Task 1.1. (Drivers and Barriers for the development of innovations) and Task 1.2. (Definition of Stakeholders’ requirements and KPI framework). This means that the research not only strengthens the project’s direction but also validates its relevance in addressing real-world needs across the Transitional Care ecosystem.

Overall, this event was a valuable opportunity to strengthen the project’s engagement with international healthcare communities and gave visibility to the project activities, including the Open Call, which invites innovators and Living Labs across Europe to collaborate in testing and scaling solutions that improve Transitional Care.

Conference ICIC25 Lisbon news & events

EVOLVE2CARE in Istanbul: Innovating Transitional Care

On May 12–13, 2025, the EVOLVE2CARE project team gathered at Başakşehir Living Lab in Istanbul, Turkey, for two days packed with strategizing the project’s next steps and engagement with stakeholders from the global network of Living Labs specialised in Healthcare!

The first day was dedicated to the project’s internal plenary meeting; not just another coordination meetup, but a valuable opportunity to gather in person, take a step back, and align on how to move forward. The second day took a different shape: EVOLVE2CARE stepped into the spotlight of the “Health & Wellbeing Living Lab Symposium 2025” as a key contributor and facilitator to the event’s agenda!

Day 1: A strategic in-person meeting with a purpose

Hosting the meeting in Istanbul served to connect the project’s internal momentum with the wider energy of the Living Lab community.

The agenda of the meeting focused on five main priorities:

Finalising the Open Call process that connects healthcare innovators with Living Labs, along with its promotion strategy
Confirming the timeline for the upcoming training programmes for both Living Labs and innovators
Discussing the forthcoming “EVOLVE2CARE Action Plan” deliverable
Outlining the feedback loop required to address regulatory aspects relevant to HealthTech experimentation
Preliminary planning for the final project event

Key highlights:

Presenting the purpose and promotion of the key performance indicator framework, based on barriers and enablers identified in Deliverable 1.1, “Roadmap on Navigating the Complexities of Enabling Innovative Technologies in Transitional Care”
Demonstrating the AccelUp and SPLORO platforms for application processing for the Open Call and discussing data management procedures
Sharing a draft version of the six training modules for Living Labs and innovators, including session structure and learning objectives
Showcasing communication achievements using meaningful KPIs from the website and social media channels
Highlighting upcoming milestones to support the Open Call and planning participation in targeted events to boost project visibility

Key decisions from the EVOLVE2CARE plenary meeting:

Final adjustments are being made to the Open Call procedure to ensure that the whole process, as well as the AccelUp and SPLORO platforms, are fully functional and seamless for applicants.
Agreement to enhance the AccelUp platform with structured fields and profiling techniques to better support the application and matchmaking procedures.
Core structure and timeline for the six training sessions for Living Labs and parallel programmes for innovators and researchers.
A new phase of communication efforts will be launched, including updated outreach materials, demo videos for both platforms, a FAQ-based social media series

Day 2: Sharing the EVOLVE2CARE vision within the HealthTech community

The next day, the EVOLVE2CARE team participated in the Health and Wellbeing Living Lab Symposium 2025, which gathered local and international stakeholders from the HealthTech sector. As part of the Symposium, the project team designed and delivered an interactive workshop titled “Unlocking HealthTech Innovation: Living Labs & Transitional Care with EVOLVE2CARE.” The session was chaired by Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), with SPLORO and ViLabs facilitating as moderators, and included an open exchange of information with the audience — primarily Living Labs from across Europe.

The session covered:

The role of Living Labs in HealthTech Experimentation and Innovation
The structure and purpose of the EVOLVE2CARE Open Call
A hands-on demonstration of the AccelUp platform
An interactive exercise where participants paired up as “innovators” and “living labs” to simulate real-world engagement

It wasn’t just a presentation — it was a conversation. With most attendees representing Living Labs, the session created space for practical dialogue around the Open Call, the project’s vision in the Transitional Care sector, and future collaboration opportunities.

The Health and Wellbeing Living Lab Symposium 2025 was organised with the support of EVOLVE2CARE, reflecting the project’s commitment to advancing collaboration and knowledge exchange in the HealthTech field. The AUTH coordination team also participated in the event’s Best Papers Award Committees, contributing to the evaluation and recognition of innovative work presented during the Symposium.

EVOLVE2CARE left Istanbul with renewed momentum, stronger partnerships, and a shared sense of purpose for the next phase of the project!

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EVOLVE2CARE supports the Health & Wellbeing Living Lab Symposium 2025 in Istanbul

The EVOLVE2CARE project is proud to support the upcoming Health & Wellbeing Living Lab Symposium 2025, taking place on 13–14 May 2025 in Istanbul, Turkey. The event is co-organised by Basaksehir Living Lab and DEEL Academy, with the support of the ENoLL Health & Wellbeing Working Group.

Living Labs have the potential to bring a significant impact in key issues such as non-communicable diseases; following that their role in the clinical environment and medical services is of equal importance. Delving into the Living Labs in Health and Medicine under the theme of the conference “Innovating Health and Daily Life through Living Labs”, this two-day event will offer a unique opportunity to place the multi-stakeholder collaboration at the heart of innovation. The conference aims to evaluate the impact and shape the future of Living Labs, driving research and innovation in Health and Wellbeing. Additionally, it will encourage discussions on innovative approaches for engaging stakeholders, addressing ethical issues, and tackling the challenges of data management in this field.

As part of our commitment to stakeholder engagement and Open Call outreach, EVOLVE2CARE coordination team will actively contribute to the event by hosting a dedicated workshop focused on the project’s Open Call on Tuesday 13 May 2025, 11:00-11:30.

The session will provide participants with:

A full overview of the EVOLVE2CARE Open Call objectives and scope
Step-by-step guidance on the application process and evaluation criteria
Opportunities for direct interaction with project partners and support teams

Join us in Istanbul as we present EVOLVE2CARE’s roadmap for supporting innovation in Transitional Care—and invite HealthTech actors to become part of our ecosystem.

Istanbul living lab news & events symposium

From insight to impact: The procedures behind the project’s framework

Developing EVOLVE2CARE’s framework means first of all crafting a solid foundation of meaningful Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that support the efficient and evidence-based integration innovations into healthcare. Such effort might be interestingly similar to a professional athlete’s preparation! Before stepping into a major event, an athlete undergoes a series of procedures—from training sessions with targeted practice to blood tests and stress assessments—to ensure peak performance. These procedures help highlight what’s effective, what needs improvement, and what’s essential for success.

Likewise, as it is analytically written in Deliverable 1.2 ‘Stakeholder Needs Analysis and KPI framework’, EVOLVE2CARE consortium applied multiple procedures to ensure that the framework of key indicators of the project is adequately accurate and relevant to foster successful innovations of HealthTech solutions for patients transitioning between care settings; which is called Transitional Care.

The primary goal, highlighted on previous blog, was to understand the needs of primary stakeholders—such as researchers, Living Labs, end-users, and regulators—and translate these insights into a practical framework of key indicators. Building on the barriers and enablers identified in Deliverable 1.1 “Roadmap on Navigating the Complexities of Enabling Innovative Technologies in Transitional Care”, we outlined the needs across two major dimensions: (1) collaboration between Living Labs and innovators, and (2) the implementation of HealthTech solutions in Transitional Care. As a result, we developed two distinct key indicators repositories:

Use Case Evaluation KPI Repository, which focuses on individual collaborations and end-user alignment.
Impact Assessment KPI Repository, which evaluates broader impacts such as regulatory readiness, financial sustainability, and social inclusion.

In practical terms, the accuracy and relevance of the framework were validated through a stakeholder-driven process. To make it more concrete, internal feedback was gathered via an online workshop involving the project partners. On top of that, three webinars conducted in March 2025 titled ‘Accelerating Innovation in Transitional Care – Identifying Key Needs & Meaningful Impact’, featuring distinguished professionals, designed to engage healthcare providers, experts, innovators, and stakeholders in co-developing solutions that enhance patient care during transitions from hospital to home. In addition to the valuable insights regarding the repositories of indicators that arose during the workshops’ discussions, further feedback came from a live session at the 14th Medical Conference at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and from the collaboration with the GILL project supported the development of social key indicators, especially around gender-responsive innovation and inclusive healthcare.

Next Steps: Engaging stakeholders and ensuring continuous improvement

To make sure the framework of key indicators keeps evolving and finds its way into real-world use, we are focusing on expanding its reach, getting feedback from the relevant stakeholders and to foster adoption, and making it as practical and user-friendly as possible. To keep the framework relevant and aligned with the dynamic needs of stakeholders, we will set up feedback channels to refine the framework of key indicators over time. In particular, here’s how we are moving forward by channeling our efforts towards three dimensions:

Living Labs Engagement: The Living Lab KPI Repository will be shared with the Health & Wellbeing Working Group of the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL), helping us align the framework with the needs of real-world testing environments and innovators.
End-Users Integration: Keeping work on a user-centric approach, we will connect with EIT Health to explore how the End-User KPI Repository can be circulated within their network. We will also collaborate with HADEA (Health and Digital Agency) of the European Commission to assess the framework’s relevance to ongoing and future initiatives.
Wider Impact and Solution Deployment: To proliferate real-world adoption, the framework will be presented to organizations such as EHTEL (European Health Telematics Association) and the Era4health partnership since these entities play a critical role in shaping policy and practice around digital health solutions.

At EVOLVE2CARE, we think of the framework of key indicators as a magnifying glass that helps us check whether the project is able to make a difference in the healthcare sector! We aim to make sure that the framework is effective and relevant for all stakeholders involved.

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SPLORO at EIC Summit 2025

On April 2, 2025 SPLORO took part in the EIC Summit 2025, the flagship event of the European Innovation Council (EIC), held in Brussels. The Summit brought together innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers to spotlight cutting-edge European innovation and promote cross-border collaboration.

SPLORO played an active role by promoting key initiatives that support women-led innovation, including Women TechEU, the EmpoWomen Programme, and the Open Horizons Project. Alongside these initiatives, SPLORO also promoted the EVOLVE2CARE Open Call, leveraging the event’s visibility to raise awareness among startups aligned with the project’s goals. In preparation for the summit, SPLORO reached out to selected startups — including Neovivum Technologies, BestHealth4U, Biopsense Oy, and CheckPoint Care — to initiate conversations around potential participation in the Open Call.

This dual engagement not only reinforced SPLORO’s commitment to supporting inclusive innovation ecosystems but also positioned EVOLVE2CARE as a forward-looking initiative that welcomes collaboration from mission-driven startups across Europe.

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