The Technical University of Madrid recently hosted another session of the professional event series implemented with the support of Széchenyi István University, based on the LinQ Catalyst methodology developed by MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). The workshop, focused on advancing healthcare innovation and fostering international partnerships, aimed to finalise medical technology project ideas developed within the programme.

Catalyst Europe is a unique initiative based on the Catalyst programme developed by MIT LinQ, dedicated to generating and supporting healthcare research projects. Its goal is to introduce a paradigm shift in research approaches, accelerating the impact of results in healthcare. Participants refine their internationally developed ideas through workshops, one of which was hosted by Széchenyi István University in Győr last November.

The continuation of this series programmes was recently held at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, allowing participating researchers to finalise their medical technology concepts. Assisting them in this endeavour was Dr Péter Törzsök, Vice-Dean for International Affairs of the Faculty of Health and Sports Sciences at Széchenyi István University and Head Physician at Petz Aladár University Teaching Hospital’s Urology Department in Győr-Moson-Sopron County. As a member of the Catalyst Europe faculty team, he has been professionally supporting the development of these projects from the outset.

During their visit, the delegations gained insight into the operations of the Hospital Clinico Universitario San Carlos in Madrid, where researchers also sought feedback from local professionals regarding their projects. This significantly contributed to the final development of their ideas and provided valuable experience in hospital-university collaborations. 

In addition to advancing healthcare innovation, the event also served as an excellent opportunity to strengthen international relations. Péter Németh, Head of HUN-REN University Centre for International Excellence Network at Széchenyi István University, highlighted that a major advantage of the programme is its global participation, which broadens the network of collaborating partners. He cited the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid as an example, which ranks 55th worldwide in the engineering and technology category of the Quacquarelli Symonds’ World University Rankings by Subject. He emphasised that the university's focus areas closely align with Széchenyi István University's strategic objectives, including research on health technology, artificial intelligence, renewable energy, telecommunications, cybersecurity, and data science, as well as support for start-up enterprises.

Workshop participants at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, with representatives of Széchenyi István University, Dr Péter Törzsök and Péter Németh, on the far left.