The INTEGER project, funded by the European Union through the HORIZON Europe programme, is focused on strengthening social innovation in the partner regions of Hamburg, Catalonia, and Krakow. At the Hamburg Innovation Summit, held on September 12th at the Oberhafenquartier, social innovations took center stage, making it the perfect platform to present the INTEGER project to the wider innovation community.
The INTEGER presentation featured contributions from:
- Rafael Nualart from i2CAT, the Catalan Digitalisation Agency, introduced the Catalan innovation ecosystem and the EU INTEGER Collaboratory of Health and Wellbeing, which fosters collaboration and promotes social innovation in health and well-being sectors.
- Agnieszka Podkow from Krakow Technology Park discussed project activities, particularly the ‘AHAthon,’ an innovative event format that showcases how technology addresses human needs by co-creating solutions for future generations. She emphasized the critical role of partnerships in driving innovation and business growth.
- Kai Schnackenberg from the Hamburg Social Welfare Authority (Department G32) highlighted Hamburg’s innovation ecosystem, sharing insights into the ongoing dialogue with the working group for sustainable urban health. He outlined INTEGER’s role in advancing Hamburg’s social entrepreneurship strategy. INTEGER also offered healthcare start-ups a platform to showcase their ideas in a competition, with the winning Hamburg start-up, ‘help – (h)offnung (e)motionen (l)eben (p)erspektive,’ presenting its digital therapy course for chronic pain sufferers to an international audience.
- Marta Rofin Serra from Bax Company (Barcelona) presented the “Cities Generator,” a powerful IT tool designed to make health considerations a key component in urban planning processes.
- Lothar Hartmann from Enterprise Europe Network, TUTECH Innovation GmbH (Hamburg), shared insights into how regional cooperation can continue to thrive beyond the INTEGER project’s conclusion.
The event provided INTEGER representatives with valuable opportunities to engage with local stakeholders, sparking discussions about potential new collaborations.
Following the summit, project partners visited two centers at HafenCity University:
- The CityScienceLab at HafenCity University, Hamburg, investigates urban challenges in the digital age through collaborations with civil society, government, industry, and academia. The lab takes an interdisciplinary approach by linking technological developments with social and cultural trends.
- Digital City Science at HafenCity University explores urban complexity using digital technologies, developing new approaches for analyzing and planning urban systems. The team integrates expertise across fields such as architecture, urban planning, IT, and software development.
At these meetings, the regions’ various strategies for integrating health-related aspects into urban planning were discussed, and possibilities for future cooperation were explored.