More than 60 project partners from research, healthcare, local government, and industry came together for the first plenary meeting of the ISyCare innovation community in Paderborn on November 24. The participants — including Prof. Dr. Volker Lohweg from the ISyCare management team, Christoph-Alexander Holst as deputy, and Frauke Wiegräbe from the organization team — took the opportunity to engage in intensive discussions about project ideas and upcoming innovation priorities.
The ISyCare concept
ISyCare brings together expertise from research, practice, and business to develop innovative, user-centered care solutions. The community is funded as part of the DATIpilot program of the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space (BMFTR) and strengthens regional cooperation in healthcare.
inIT is working on the Care Data Spaces work package
At inIT, ISyCare is anchored in the Discrete Systems research group headed by Prof. Dr. Volker Lohweg. As a research partner within the innovation community, the institute is responsible for the Care Data work package, in which data-based technologies for modern care are further developed and put into practice. This includes:
- Medical and care-related data infrastructures
- Data-driven analyses using machine learning
- Digital assistance systems for care and rehabilitation
- App-based solutions to support patients
The aim is to further develop intelligent systems in a practical manner and make them usable – always with a view to specifically improving the patient journey.
Plenary session: A shared vision of tomorrow's healthcare
The plenary session highlighted the diversity of the community: representatives from strategy circles, expert networks, innovation labs, and user groups presented their work and demonstrated the breadth of existing expertise.
Three keynote speeches then highlighted the breadth of topics covered by ISyCare – from value creation and start-up ecosystems to smart city approaches at the Bad Salzuflen health campus and AI-supported care documentation.
The diversity of the contributions showed the potential of regional cooperation – and how important coordinated strategies are for modern, user-oriented care.
Live pitches: Seven teams move on to the full application phase
After the keynote speeches, things got down to business: Several teams presented their project ideas in short live pitches. The participants selected seven of the projects presented, which will now move on to the full application phase.
Smart collaboration for the OWL region
The plenary meeting demonstrated how closely science, practitioners, local authorities, and healthcare providers work together in ISyCare. This structure forms the foundation for testing innovations in healthcare more quickly and establishing them permanently.
“With ISyCare, we are laying the foundation for bringing data-driven innovations into healthcare more quickly. Our research shows that intelligent systems can significantly ease the workload of healthcare professionals while improving the quality of life for those affected.” – Prof. Dr. Volker Lohweg
Further insights into the 1st Community General Assembly: https://isy-care.de/2025/11/1-community-vollversammlung-der-innovationscommunity-isycare-projektteams-praesentieren-ihre-ideen