Federal President Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier visits FAU
Federal President Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited FAU on November 7 as part of the series of events entitled “Workshop for change”. In the innovation hub Medical Valley Center Erlangen, five teams from the healthcare sector presented their projects, including “GraspAgain”, a start-up initiated by a research team at FAU headed by Prof. Dr. Alessandro Del Vecchio. It is the project’s goal to reinstate the hand function of people with neuromuscular impairments via a non-invasive brain-machine interface and a mechatronic system. The team was presented the Medical Valley Award at the beginning of the year, worth 500,000 euros and aimed at supporting research teams at Bavarian universities who wish to launch a start-up based on their idea.
The other guests were Prof. Jürgen Schüttler, Dr. Florian Janik, mayor of the City of Erlangen, Prof. Joachim Hornegger, FAU President, and Anna Goldsworthy, managing director of Medical Valley EMN e.V. The showcased innovations prompted a discussion about how to successfully transform the healthcare sector: What resources are needed and what can be done to scout out, encourage and support individuals with talent and potential more intensively than is currently the case? How can we proactively shape transformation in healthcare and take steps to support it in a way that is sustainable in the long term?
Federal President Steinmeier’s new series of events “Workshop for change” focuses on far-reaching structural changes within our society and highlights locations where transformation is successful. The vast diversity of companies based in the Medical Valley Erlangen made the location perfect for the occasion.