Building Better Human–Tech Collaboration: Insights from the Thessaloniki Meeting
Turning insights into action for human-tech collaboration
During September, our partners came together in Thessaloniki for a two-day consortium meeting hosted by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh). The gathering brought together academic, clinical and industry partners, as well as invited external stakeholders, to review progress across work packages and discuss the project’s transition from observational research to interventional case studies.
The meeting focused on two priorities: refining the design of interventions to be implemented in partner hospitals and strengthening stakeholder engagement in the development of the TechConnect Toolkit.
Grounding the research in clinical practice
To better understand how technology is adopted in clinical settings, we started the day with a visit to the University hospital to see first-hand how digital technology is used in practice with the focus of providing students with practical experience. We kicked off at AUTh’s School of Dentistry before heading out for a morning hospital visit. It was a great opportunity to experience the Greek clinical context first-hand and to compare notes with what our partners have seen in hospitals across Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden.
As we’ve learned, bringing new technology into hospitals depends on how professionals, organisational structures and day-to-day routines come together, and many of the real challenges only become visible on the ground. These cross-country conversations continue to enrich our shared understanding of what makes human-tech collaboration work.
Opening the conversation
In the afternoon, we welcomed invited stakeholders from outside the consortium for our stakeholder workshop. It was a lively and productive session, with space to share the project’s work, hear fresh perspectives and test emerging ideas together. Their input will help make sure the recommendations and tools we develop are shaped by the people who will actually use them.
From observations to interventions
The second day brought us to the AUTh’s Research Dissemination Center. Trinity College Dublin, as project coordinator, opened the day by setting out our objectives and walking us through an overview of each work package.
The morning was all about the interventional case studies, led by Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Building on the selection criteria and preliminary plans we mapped out in Madrid, partners rolled up their sleeves to work through the design of interventions for each hospital, making sure each one responds to the real challenges surfaced during the observational phase.
In the afternoon, BluSpecs led the session on stakeholder engagement and the TechConnect Toolkit. Building on everything we heard at the previous day’s workshop, the group explored how to turn research findings into practical guidance that helps healthcare organisations drive meaningful change in how they adopt technology.
We closed the meeting with a wrap-up from Trinity College Dublin, looking ahead to the months to come. A big thank you to our hosts at AUTh for their warm welcome, and to everyone who joined us in Thessaloniki.
