PERFORM takes home the hardware
Kevin Little (centre), the PERFORM Centre’s chief administrative officer, accepts the Best in Marketplace Award at INTERFACE 2014 from Michael Bidu (left) CEO of Sanotron and executive producer of INTERFACE 2014 and Brian Krieger (right), executive director, Export Development, British Colombia Ministry of International Trade. | Photo courtesy of Sanotron
The PERFORM Centre’s unique model of combining preventive health research, education and community engagement distinguished itself as an emerging player in the health ecosystem at a recent international conference on the future of health.
The Marketplace at the INTERFACE 2014 International Partnering Forum held in Vancouver in late September — hosted by Sanotron, Canada’s Centre for Wireless & Digital Health Innovation — was designed to engage, inform, inspire and connect digital health innovators and other key stakeholders from research, industry, government and the business community.
Kevin Little, the PERFORM Centre’s Chief Administrative Officer, took part in the two day event and was informed that Concordia’s flagship preventive health research centre was voted “Best in Marketplace” by conference goers and a judging panel.
“The first afternoon I was involved in an organized marketplace event, which included dozens of back-to-back meetings with funding agencies, TED-like talkers, start-ups and large corporations, from seven countries” explains Little. “What impressed was how we managed to articulate our non-patient, community engagement model as something different players in the digital health field can partner with.”
Michael Bidu, Executive Producer of INTERFACE 2014, has this to say: “When we invited Kevin Little from the PERFORM Centre at Concordia University to our 3rd annual summit we didn’t know what to expect. PERFORM deserved the award not only because it had the most B2B meetings out of all other participants but also because it made a clear and compelling case for partnership between research and industry. Having the CEO of Hexoskin, a Canadian digital health company that tested their smart clothing technology with PERFORM Centre, as a speaker at INTERFACE 2014 made it even more compelling for the centre to position itself as an industry partner. Sanotron is looking forward to partnering with PERFORM.”
The award was one of eight handed out at a gala dinner of the second night of the conference.
“To me, this award is a testament to three plus years of hard work by PERFORM’s committed staff and growing research members,” says Little. “We’ve built a niche that’s stimulating academics, engaging our local community and attracting business. This is the true definition of innovation.”
Learn more about the annual INTERFACE conference on their website or on their Facebook page.