Five leading universities have joined forces to create a state-of-the-art Digital Health Hub in the south west of England and Wales. With a whopping £4.11m investment, the hub aims to address unmet health and care needs by fostering collaborative research projects among industry partners, academia, patients, carers, and healthcare professionals.
The Leadership, Engagement, Acceleration and Partnership (LEAP) initiative is a collaborative effort between the University of Bristol, University of Bath, University of the West of England, Cardiff University, and the University of Exeter, supported by the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration South West Peninsula and Health Data Research UK.
Led by the University of Bristol, one of five digital health hubs backed by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council, LEAP seeks to elevate the region’s digital health capabilities by leveraging the collective expertise of its partners.
Professor Christos Vasilakis, director of the University of Bath’s Centre for Healthcare Innovation and Improvement, expressed excitement about the potential of LEAP to drive innovation and partnership in the healthcare sector, ultimately enhancing the region’s healthcare ecosystem.
In addition to its institutional partners, LEAP collaborates with 21 supporting companies, seven NHS trusts and health boards, four social care organizations, five local authorities, Health Innovation West of England, and business incubator SETsquared.
Over the next three years, the Digital Health Hub will provide a comprehensive Skills and Knowledge Programme, drawing on the expertise of LEAP’s university partners. The Research and Fellowship Programmes will also be launched to pioneer new research approaches and nurture future leaders in the field of digital health.
Professor Ian Craddock, director of LEAP based at Bristol’s School of Engineering Mathematics and Technology, emphasized the unique opportunity to catalyze innovation in digital health by fostering new collaborations across academia, industry, health, and social care sectors. Stay tuned for the upcoming calls for collaborative pilot research projects and fellowship schemes this spring.
