By CEO of HIRANI, Joann Rhodes
I had the pleasure of joining incredible conversations at HLTH Europe in Amsterdam last week, for its second year. The format this year was the first day brought together 30+ global Health systems at the Health Transformation summit to explore case studies and workshop frameworks to transform Healthcare delivery. This was followed by three days where global leaders, innovators and change makers convened for cross-sector panels, forums and fireside chats celebrating progress in health innovation. Here are my reflections and insights from 2025 that are directly relevant for our thriving medtech and life sciences ecosystem in Northern Ireland:
- The Power of Strategic Networking & Collaboration
- AI & Digital Innovation Taking Centre Stage
- Regulatory Strategy as Competitive Advantage
The Power of Strategic Networking & Collaboration
It was great to reap the benefits of our large health innovation network and Northern Ireland’s unique positioning. This combined with HLTH Europe’s unique format created a personalised environment for meaningful conversations that generated new ideas to shape policy, plus significant business leads and partnerships. From spending time with NI SMEs such as Eolas Medical and reconnecting with organisations we know well from Health Innovation networks and Dept of Business and Trade to having time to deepen relationships with people I have interacted with in the last few months from EU and Canadian Health Clusters, BioCat, BioVia and MaRS, along with strong introductions and serendipitous new connections.
These high-quality connections simply don’t happen at traditional conferences – and we hope mirrors and shows the power of what we’re building in Northern Ireland between innovators, industry, and healthcare systems. I would like to see more organisations take the time to attend HLTH2026, and will work with partners to promote the value of a mission so NI innovators can benefit from the quality of the conversations and network and the opportunity to learn more about the EU market and build a stronger UK Health system and EU relationships.
AI & Digital Innovation Taking Centre Stage
The thread running through the week was that measured adoption of AI into Health and wellbeing pathways will only come with humans and systems taking small steps to experiment and gain confidence with a “sand-box” approach to ensure we can learn and understand how to channel the benefits and minimise the risks. As digital and real world solutions blend, there needs to a focus on practical AI applications that enhance patient and clinician experience to tackle administrative barriers via interoperability tools to highlight healthcare inequalities and reduce workforce burnout.
In 2026, to recognise that health-tech is not the same as therapeutics, I am looking forward to a #HLTH2026 pivot towards sharing new adoption and implementation strategies that support health systems and innovators to co-design and co-adopt technology solutions in a more iterative and cost-effective process reflecting how both could share the benefits.
Regulatory Strategy as Competitive Advantage
Game-changing perspective: As world economics become more volatile new opportunities are opening up. It is clear that regulation shouldn’t be a roadblock, but part of the roadmap from Day 1. Forward-thinking founders are building regulatory foresight into commercial strategy from the outset. For NI innovators early regulatory planning isn’t just good governance – it’s smart business. Regulatory science and strategic insights will be crucial to realising this.
The energy and innovation on display that I experienced at HLTH Europe reinforces why Northern Ireland is perfectly positioned to discover, build and adopt world-class healthcare innovation. Our unique combination of world-class research in Life Sciences, Sensors, AI and Cyber; our growing supportive ecosystem that encourages people to meet and share ideas and our strategic location for collaboration across Ireland and UK and both EU and US market access makes Nor an ideal launchpad for the next generation of healthcare solutions.
