Originally published on March 22, 2024.
Shared from our partners at the Berlin Senate Department for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises (SenWiEnBe):
Berlin and Berkeley team up to boost innovation in the field of digital health and aging
The State of Berlin and the University of California, Berkeley team up to boost innovation in the field of digital health and aging. A respective Memorandum of Understanding between both parties was signed on the occasion of the visit of Berlin’s Mayor and Senator for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises, Franziska Giffey, to UC Berkeley on March 21, 2024.
The new partnership focuses on building a network between innovative companies, start-ups and research institutions from the Berlin Capital Region and California. The transatlantic network’s goal is the promotion of knowledge transfer and social as well as digital innovation for the improvement of health and living conditions of older adults – and facilitating digital participation for an aging society. The partnership and its first joint project titled “Against loneliness and for digital participation for older adults” was initiated by Professor Thomas Schildhauer, Director of Berlin’s Digital Urban Center for Aging and Health (DUCAH) and Dr. David Lindeman, executive director of CITRIS Health at the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society and the Banatao Institute (CITRIS). The two institutes will serve as project leads. Under the MOU both sides agree to support the exchange of research scholars, start-up managers and small and medium-sized enterprises as well as conduct cooperative workshops and symposia. The initiative is funded by Berlin’s Senate Department for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises and through its Program for Internationalization with 200.000 Euro.
During the signing ceremony Franziska Giffey said: “We want to make Berlin Europe’s innovation hub number one. Building strong partnerships internationally is an important cornerstone of our strategy. I am excited to see researchers and companies from Berlin and Berkeley join forces in addressing an issue that concerns both our societies. How can we use digital technology to enhance quality of life as our societies get ever older? This question has important medical and social dimensions. With expertise from both sides of the Atlantic we can not only develop the right answers but also promote sustainable economic growth and prosperity.”
“We are thrilled with the new agreement to conduct research, training and innovation work between German and University of California researchers and entrepreneurs. The work being led by the Digital Urban Center for Aging and Health (DUCAH) and the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society and the Banatao Institute (CITRIS) will lead to impactful technology solutions that will benefit older adults and their families in both countries. The DUCAH /CITRIS collaboration demonstrates how technology can be used to improve the well-being and health of individuals globally,” said David Lindeman, executive director of CITRIS Health.
“It is a great opportunity to strengthen the market opportunities for Berlin SMEs in the important field of digital offerings and services for older and lonely people by collaborating with one of the world’s leading digital health innovation centers. With this mission, the Digital Urban Center for Aging and Health in Berlin was founded as an initiative of healthcare organizations, research institutions and solution providers,” said Prof. Thomas Schildhauer.
About CITRIS and the Banatao Institute
The Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society and the Banatao Institute (CITRIS) create information technology solutions for society’s most pressing challenges.
CITRIS leverages the research strengths of the University of California campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Merced, and Santa Cruz, and operates within the greater ecosystem of the University and the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit of Silicon Valley. CITRIS strengthens bridges between world-class laboratory research, state and national policymakers, and companies and startups creating new applications and reshaping entire industries. CITRIS facilitates interdisciplinary work among hundreds of University of California faculty members, students, corporate partners, and international institutions. Together with these public and private partners, CITRIS shaping the future of technology in ways that cross traditional boundaries.
About the Digital Urban Center for Aging and Health
In view of demographic change and the increased need for care on the one hand and the shortage of skilled workers on the other, innovative solutions and technologies are required. In all aspects, the focus should be on the vision of living better for longer in order to enable people to age independently in their familiar surroundings for as long as possible with the help of digital technologies. Based on this vision, the Digital Urban Center for Aging and Health (DUCAH) was initiated in 2020 by the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG) in collaboration with the Foundation for Internet and Society and the Einstein Center Digital Future (ECDF) as an inter-university cooperation platform at the intersection of digitalization, urbanization and health. The DUCAH cooperative is an interdisciplinary and inter-industry network for the promotion of digital and social innovations in the social and health economy. The focus of all activities is on people, so that new innovations are developed with older people rather than just for them. To this end, DUCAH advises, works and conducts research collaboratively on site: in urban and rural neighborhoods, in nursing homes and hospitals. The aim is always to give all residents, patients, carers, doctors and relatives (better) access to innovative, digital-based solutions and the latest research findings.