Creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship are essential elements to promote healthy habits in childhood, active aging or in the prevention of diseases like cancer, has been highlighted at the eighth edition of the Workshop on Technological Innovation in Health #WITSalud, under Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) and titled Social Innovations for Health and Well-being organized by the Pfizer Foundation.
The meeting had the participation of multidisciplinary experts, leaders in each of their fields, who contributed their perspective on the challenges, opportunities and the specific moment the health sector is in, in terms of innovation and technology.
A futuristic approach towards key issues is also proposed, such as, for example, innovation to develop healthy cities, environmental protection or entrepreneurship as a motor for social change.
For her part, Cristina Ribes, Executive Director of the Gasol Foundation Europe, highlighted the need to integrate innovation resources into the educational sector with the aim of building good habits from childhood.
During his presentation, Innovations in Promoting Healthy Habits in Childhood, he elaborated that “the field of education is key to preventing childhood obesity. Educational centers are places where children spend a lot of time, where they develop They grow as people, and we must take advantage of this opportunity to help them become promoters of health.”
On the other hand, Irene Mileiro, director of Ashoka Spain, highlights the need to continue developing the entrepreneurial ecosystem, clearly betting on the financing of projects in their early stages. “The future of entrepreneurship in Spain is very promising, but there is still a lot to be done. More funding is needed, especially in the early stages, to help projects that are trying to scale up,” They said.
They have emphasized “betting on a more diverse and inclusive ecosystem and with a systemic approach that seeks to structurally solve major societal problems ranging from mental health to better diagnostics or preventive medicine.”
In this sense, Ana Isabel Arroyo, director of projects at the Social Technologies Foundation (Red Cross and Vodafone Spain Foundation), acknowledges the importance of placing patients at the center.
“Innovation should be in the service of people and not the other way around. To get good results in the application of technology, we should keep the needs of people at the centre”, he highlighted the need to involve users in innovation. Process.
