Thorgate at Innovation hangout in Oslo

Header photo credit: Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry in Norway (LMI)

The Thorgate team recently attended the Life Science Growth House innovation hangout in Oslo Science Park on the 9th of June 2022. We were represented by key account managers Karl Okva and Evelin Mutli. We were part of the 2nd event in a series of 4, with the topic being “Tomorrow’s medicine – advanced therapies, cell therapy, precision medicine, and nuclear medicine”

The event saw in its attendance, a lot of inspiring academics and researchers, as well as Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical and Healthcare companies like Roche, GE Healthcare, Pfizer etc.

Thorgate was attended firstly, because of its close relationship with a few companies in Oslo Science Park (eg. Nordic Brain Tech ) whom we help build innovative digital solutions but also to keep ourselves in the loop with the trends and aspirations of the companies of tomorrow.. Our team has put in countless hours to learn the healthcare business and create healthtech solutions and events like these are a great way to exchange ideas and see what the future may hold.

The goal of this meetup was to strengthen the innovation culture at University of Oslo (collaborating partner) to put more knowledge from research to use. They want to inspire researchers and students, give them self-confidence and knowledge about the innovation process, help them build networks, and facilitate collaboration between academia and the industry.

Photo credit: Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry in Norway (LMI)

Key takeaways from the innovation hangout

1. Automating processes is the key to future success

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the immense pressure our healthcare system was in to a certain limelight. Hence, making a case for the fact that embracing innovative digital technologies is key for healthcare providers in improving patient care, streamlining operations, and increasing revenue margins.

When healthcare providers leverage automation, they can operate with more agility and consistency across their processes. The event largely focused on meaningful innovations in operational efficiency and value-based patient care.

2. Always start with the MVP

Time and time again at Thorgate we’ve talked about the importance of starting with an MVP when building any solution, but especially a healthcare solution that must be fail-proof. The main reason to start with an MVP is of course the money. Especially in the current economic environment, this agile process keeps you from wasting money on pointless development and helps you learn by doing, making the process iterative and hence, lean. If you’re not exactly and entirely sure what you need, always start small. (We’ve extensively covered this topic in many other articles, but you can read about building smart MVPs in our Ebook here: https://register.thorgate.eu/mvp-ebook)

3. Create the right network

Since the event was largely targeting masters and PhD students and other people in academia, one key takeaway was encouraging these PhD/Post-Doc students to create the right network within the industry. The series of events are a great way to meet and network with industry specialists like Thorgate, companies like GE Healthcare and Pfizer, researchers and others who are in the start of a similar journey . This is the key to innovation in healthcare and the birth of great ideas.