TechConnect in Madrid: From Insights to Interventions

In November, TechConnect partners gathered in Madrid for a two-day consortium meeting hosted by Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, bringing together academic, clinical, and industry voices from across Europe to review progress and plan the next phase of the project.

New partners, fresh momentum

The meeting opened with updates from each work package and a warm welcome to the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, whose expertise will be central as the project moves towards interventional case studies and stronger policy engagement.

Project coordinator Stephen Rigney set out a clear picture of where TechConnect stands and where it is heading, before Anette Hallin shared early findings from the observational case studies, prompting rich reflections from hospital partners in Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Sweden.

From observation to action

Hospital partners then visited Ramón y Cajal Hospital while academic partners stayed on to dive deeper into the Human–Tech Complementarity Index with Laura Piscicelli, connecting real-world experience with conceptual tools.

On day two, discussions turned to the next big milestone: interventional case studies. Led by Ernestina Menasalvas and Ana Moreno, partners worked on criteria and preliminary plans to design context-sensitive interventions grounded in the challenges surfaced so far.

Looking ahead

The meeting closed with a focus on stakeholder engagement, communications and long-term sustainablity and the upcoming milestones. Wrapping up the two days, Na Fu reflected on the value of bringing everyone into the same room and the exciting road ahead as TechConnect moves from understanding human–tech interactions to actively shaping them.