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Published: 22 March 2024
Text: Anne-Marie Korseberg Stokke
Photo: Angelique Culvin
HealthHACK is a hackathon where OsloMet students tackle various issues related to health and technology. The Life Science Cluster members Aker Biomarine, Calluna Pharma, Arctic Bioscience, and Inven2, present the challenges and students from fields such as pharmacy, biology, AI, engineering, and entrepreneurship spend two intense days working towards a solution.
"Students get to tackle real-life examples from four members of the cluster. They present their results to a panel consisting of representatives from the Norwegian Medicines Agency, the industry, the university, and an investor. So they get to test their ideas in the real world," says Hanne Mette Kristensen, CEO of The Life Science Cluster.
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Intelligent Health is a strategic initiative at OsloMet seeking to strengthen education, research, and innovation in health and technology. Intelligent Health aims to use technology to provide knowledge and solutions that promote health and prevent disease.
"The goal is to achieve better and more research, new knowledge, and expertise that are necessary for society. We want to collaborate more with the surrounding community, both private and public actors, and involve more disciplines within the university. We greatly appreciate the collaboration with The Life Science Cluster, which serves as a neutral partner for us towards the private sector," says Vibeke Telle-Hansen, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Health Sciences at OsloMet.
At the end of the HealthHACK, the students participate in a pitch competition where each group has 10 minutes to present their innovative ideas.
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"This has been a fantastic experience. We have worked together in interdisciplinary teams to build something new and create innovative solutions. It has been very rewarding to see the value of the knowledge I have gained through my studies and to be able to use it in collaboration with others. This will be valuable when working in teams later in my career," says Fatima Ali, a student at Oslo Met.
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As an entrepreneur, it can be tempting to say yes to everything and everyone offering you financing. But think twice before entering a partnership with someone who cannot add value to the company in terms of expertise, is the message from Pekka Simula from Innovestor.
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"The biological diversity of Earth is threatened. Understanding and preserving species will therefore be crucial for the survival and prosperity of humanity," says a professor at the University of Oslo. The Norwegian part of the global Earth BioGenome Project (EBP) is now gathering forces from all of academic Norway, as well as representatives from the business sector, to DNA sequence everything from ferns to bears.
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