Prof. Fiona Watt, EMBO Director, and Prof. Vasilis Ntziachristos, Director of Bioengineering, Helmholtz Munich and TU-Munich, jointly organize a policy workshop on Biomedical Engineering at EMBO in Heidelberg, Germany, on March 3 and 4, 2026. 

The workshop will bring together scientists, entrepreneurs, European funders, policy makers and other stakeholders to discuss the potential of Biomedical Engineering as a transformative force for healthcare innovations and economic growth in Europe. The aim of the workshop is to propose actions for a European Biomedical Engineering Agenda that addresses current gaps and challenges for academics and entrepreneurs. 

The international, collaborative and interdisciplinary workshop will identify drawbacks and bottlenecks that hinder the translation from research to applications in Biomedical Engineering and discuss measures to overcome these obstacles. The proposed actions, readily aligned with the priorities of innovation, competitiveness, tech leadership and economic prosperity in Europe, should help to facilitate new partnerships and alliances and transcend boundaries between disciplines, institutions and sectors.

The expected outcomes of the workshop will include a white paper for politicians and policymakers at the European Commission, the European Parliament and representatives from national governments. The organizers also plan to communicate the results to the wider scientific community via newspapers and scientific journals.