Fellows in Focus: June 2024

Updates concerning Sciana Fellows in June 2024

New roles for Valerie Kirchberger and Alexander Schellinger

From July, Valerie Kirchberger (Cohort 6) will take on a new role with Heartbeat Medical. Having served as managing director and chief operating officer for three and a half years, Valerie will now move onto the board and embark on a new journey that will see her enter the care delivery sector. On LinkedIn, Valerie shared three key learnings from her time as managing director and a hint as to what she's planning to do next.

From 1 July, Alexander Schellinger (Cohort 5) will also be in a new role and at a new organisation. After almost eight years with Die Techniker, Alexander is moving to Siemens Healthineers to serve as director digital transformation consulting. On LinkedIn, Alexander outlined what he's looking to achieve in his new role.

Herzlichen Glückwunsch Valerie und Alexander!

A Value-Based Healthcare Podcast

In case you didn't know, Valerie produces and hosts her own podcast. The Value-Based Healthcare Podcast's latest episode features an interview with Holger Bartz, head of medical and scientific affairs at J&J Innovative Medicine Deutschland.

Mirjam Weber appears on BeBest! Podcast

Mirjam Webber (Cohort 6) was recently featured on an episode of the BeBest! Podcast. She spoke about her role at Krebsliga Schweiz and the goals she has set herself. In addition, she talked about her family life and what role model she wants to be for her children.

Lorena Dini among faculty at EUPHA-HSRM Spring School

Lorena Dini (Cohort 4) was among the faculty at this year's EUPHA-HSRM Spring School. This was a five-day meeting in June designed for public health professionals and practitioners keen to deepen their skills in various research methods. Read Lorena's short reflection on LinkedIn.

Exploring the power of exchange and leadership

Ulrike Streit (Cohort 5) spoke to Sciana about her experience in the programme, examples of leadership that resonated with her, and how she's become more familiar with One Health as a result of Cohort 5's Sciana Challenge.

Working collaboratively and witnessing democracy in action

Ahead of her appearance at Salzburg Global Weekend in 2023, Jacqui Dyer (Cohort 4) reflected on her experience as a Sciana Fellow and the language it gave her to explain the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework from a participatory approach perspective.

Dimitra Panteli speaks at HMSS24 conference in Rome

In case you missed it, Dmitra Panteli (Cohort 6) spoke at HIMMS24 Europe. This year's conference occurred at the end of May in Rome. Dimitra featured in a panel discussion titled "Digital Transformation: Assessing the Financial and Economic Enablers and Impacts." Read Dimitra's reflection on LinkedIn.

Brave leadership and new ways of thinking

Ahead of Cohort 5's fourth residential meeting, Helen Crimlisk noted some thoughts on her "transformative" Sciana journey and what effect it has had on her day-to-day work.

"With each other, not alongside each other"

Artificial intelligence and big data are changing society fast, and that includes the university. Universität Zürich Digital Strategy Board members Harald Gall, Lena Jäger, and Claudia Witt (Cohort 5) explain the opportunities and challenges this presents.

Meanwhile, Claudia has also been elected to the Senate of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences. Individual members are selected based on their exceptional scientific achievements in medicine. Congratulations, Claudia!

"Unattraktive Jobs werden durch unattraktive Jobs ersetzt"  ("Unattractive jobs are replaced by unattractive jobs")

Mathias Binswanger (Cohort 2) has written a new book: Die Verselbständigung des Kapitalismus (The Independence of Capitalism). In an interview with Blick, Mathias warned against the hype surrounding artificial intelligence, indicating one thing it will lead to is more bureaucracy.

Shera Chok celebrates Shuri Network's fifth anniversary at House of Commons

The Shuri Network recently celebrated its fifth anniversary at the House of Commons. The Network was co-founded by Shera Chok (Cohort 2).

Marking the occasion, the Network said, "3,000 members, 85 Fellows, 20 podcasts, over 100 bursaries, and we are just getting started! We celebrated our 5th Anniversary at Westminster with our members, team, and allies. The Network has changed lives, challenged racism and discrimination, created a new generation of digital leaders and champions and is helping to improve patient safety and outcomes." Read more. 

Shera also confirmed to Sciana that the Shuri Network received 470 applications for its fourth cohort of digital fellowships. Thank you to everyone who shared the opportunity.

Nursing & AI - From Egosystem to Ecosystem

Thomas Fischer (Cohort 3) and Tobias Gantner (Cohort 1) participated in a panel discussion on nursing at last month's German Israeli Health Forum for Artificial Intelligence.

The Forum brought together the ministries of health from both countries, startups, innovation managers, and high-ranking experts from the field of digital health.

On their panel, Tobias and Thomas were joined by Mina Luetkens (CEO, Patients4Digital) and Sigal Shafran Tikva (Director R&D Centre, Hadassah University Hospital). Together, they explored what artificial intelligence means for the future of nursing.

Tobias moderated the panel discussion, which was held in English, and recorded it for the latest Mehr Einsatz Wagen podcast episode. Artur Olesch, an editorial contributor and occasional co-host of the podcast, helped make the discussion possible. It is available to listen to on all major streaming platforms, including Apple and Spotify.

Strengthening primary care in Germany

Lorena Dini (Cohort 4) delivered the keynote address at a parliamentary breakfast organised by Bundesverband Managed Care e.V (BMC e.V).

The event was organised by Lutz Hager (Cohort 2), chair of BMC e.V's board.

Among other topics, attendees discussed how politicians can better enable regional, networked, and team-based primary care.

In her keynote, Lorena discussed her research projects and shared perspectives and proposals from the European Forum for Primary Care and the European Public Health Association.