The Global Research & Industry Alliance (GLORIA) of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Trade Council of Denmark jointly organized an online business matchmaking forum on November 3, titled “Future of Health: Digital Healthcare & Precision Medicine.”
With rapid population aging and the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, many countries around the world have seen a growth in telemedicine and a rapid increase in the demands of industry digitalization. As Denmark has extensive experience in both telemedicine and medical system digitalization, the Trade Council of Denmark invited Danish experts to engage in a one-on-one online business matchmaking session with technical teams from Taiwan. After matchmaking was concluded, inspiring online keynote speeches and exchanges were held, where speakers shared their insights on future trends in medicine. Along with a collaborating technical team from National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, three universities that are a part of GLORIA attended the one-on-one matchmaking session, including National Chiao Tung University, Feng Chia University, and Taipei Medical University. The projected scope of development includes patient vital sign monitoring, imaging-aided diagnosis, and smart medical systems. This event enabled Danish experts to gain a better understanding of Taiwan’s industry-academia development and the ecosystems of local startups. The matchmaking session is anticipated to bring new business opportunities that involve international collaboration between Taiwan and Denmark.
The online forum included five keynote speeches and one panel discussion. The keynotes speeches were delivered by three Danish experts and two Taiwanese experts, including Professor Birthe Dinesen, Aalborg University; Mr. Lars Nohr, Chief Consultant, Quality & Innovation, Elderly and Disability Administration; Mr. Peter Astrup, Center Manager, Test and Development Center, Viborg Municipality; Distinguished Professor Jung-Hsien Chiang, Chair of National Cheng Kung University Hospital IT Office; and Professor Albert Chih-Chieh Yang, Director of Digital Medicine Center, National Yang-Ming University. The panel was moderated by Professor and Director Der-Ming Liou, Graduate Institute of Biomedical Informatics, Taipei Medical University. A wide range of topics was discussed, including future global trends for digital health, success cases of telemedicine and care venue applications in Denmark, and the status and technological trends of Taiwan's telemedicine and digital medicine market. The discussion topics also included expected shifts in the global medical industry following the COVID-19 pandemic, technology solutions that the Danish/European market has to offer to Taiwan, and how to collaborate and leverage innovative applications to explore blue ocean strategies.
The event was successfully concluded, and the turnout was substantial despite the event being held online. In addition to giving local teams greater international exposure and chances to increase networking, the event also offers opportunities for international collaborations, improvements in technology, and business matchmaking, ultimately forming a solid foundation for future cooperation between Taiwan and Denmark.