Alumni project week Global perspectives on digital health: alumni meet in Heidelberg and Cologne
Digital progress in medicine and its global impact are the focus of a project week that will take place in Heidelberg and Cologne from 20 to 26 November 2025. International alumni and alumnae from six German partner institutions have been invited. In addition to Heidelberg University and the local German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), these include the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Universities of Cologne, Münster and Siegen.
The event entitled "Global Digital Health – Interdisciplinary Challenges from an International Perspective" will focus on the joint development of innovative approaches to tackling global health challenges. In view of the topicality and social relevance of digital health with regard to the various dimensions of the use of digital technologies for health promotion and healthcare, the effects of digitalisation will be discussed in the sense of an interdisciplinary and international think tank: from disease prevention and healthcare, ethical and legal issues, diagnostics and therapy, to biomedical informatics and ageing research. Particular attention will be paid to the opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence in the healthcare sector.
The project week aims to bring together researchers from countries in the Global South and North with different disciplinary backgrounds. The programme at both locations includes keynote speeches and discussions, laboratory tours, networking opportunities and some cultural activities. The interactive and participatory design is intended to ensure a sustainable transfer of knowledge, intensify cross-national and cross-disciplinary cooperation and strengthen the connections between the alumni and the German research institutions.
The event is sponsored by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) with funds from the Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
