Guest Seminar Series
Innovation in healthcare depends on collaboration between researchers, clinicians, industry leaders, policymakers and entrepreneurs. Our Guest Seminar Series brings these communities together to share ideas, explore emerging technologies, and discuss the opportunities and challenges shaping the future of health and care.
The series showcases a diverse range of perspectives from academia, healthcare, industry and the wider innovation ecosystem, helping researchers understand how new technologies are developed, implemented and translated into real-world impact.
Delivering a guest seminar offers an opportunity to share expertise, contribute to the development of future digital health leaders, and engage with a community of highly skilled doctoral researchers.
Interested in contributing a seminar?
Get in touch to discuss how your expertise could help shape the future of digital healthcare.
Recent Guest Seminars
Amber Vodegel
Founder and CEO, 28X Ltd
Amber Vodegel delivered a seminar on "Rebuilding Trust in Consumer Health: A New Systems Blueprint for Safe, Private, On-Device AI in Health", sharing insights from her entrepreneurial journey, the MedTech sector, ethical innovation, and inequalities in access to healthcare, particularly in women's digital health.
Amber founded one of the world's largest digital health applications, which was bootstrapped to success before being acquired by Philips NV. Powered by machine learning and advanced analytics, the platform became the world's leading pregnancy app, reaching more than 150 million users globally.
As a technology entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist, Amber is now leading 28X, a privacy-first digital health platform designed to transform women's healthcare. Operating entirely on-device, 28X eliminates the need for cloud-based data storage and prioritises user privacy, accessibility and trust. By combining on-device AI, culturally sensitive user experiences and a sustainable business model, the platform provides free health education and support to users worldwide, with a particular focus on underserved communities.
Through her seminar, Amber explored how digital health technologies can be developed responsibly and at scale while addressing issues of privacy, equity and trust in healthcare innovation.
Professor Stephen Farry
Professor of Strategic Policy in Practice, Ulster University
Professor Stephen Farry delivered a seminar on the work of Ulster University's Strategic Policy Unit (SPU), exploring how academic expertise can inform public policy and address complex societal challenges. The session highlighted the role of evidence-based policymaking, collaboration between universities and government, and the importance of translating research into real-world impact.
Professor Farry holds a PhD in International Relations from Queen's University Belfast and is Professor of Strategic Policy in Practice at Ulster University. He has extensive experience in public policy, having served as a local councillor, Mayor, Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, and Member of Parliament for North Down. Between 2011 and 2016, he served as Northern Ireland's Minister for Employment and Learning and has played an active role in the peace and political process since participating in negotiations leading to the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.
During the seminar, Professor Farry discussed how the Strategic Policy Unit provides influential analysis of political, economic and social issues, stimulates public debate, and fosters collaboration between academia, policymakers and government stakeholders. He also outlined how the Unit supports students and researchers by creating opportunities to engage with policy development and contribute to solutions for societal challenges at both local and global levels.
Through his insights, researchers gained a valuable perspective on the relationship between research, policymaking and public service, and how evidence can shape decision-making across a range of sectors, including health and technology.
Professor Saeema Ahmed-Kristensen
Professor of Design Engineering, University College London (UCL)
Professor Saeema Ahmed-Kristensen delivered a seminar titled "Digital Technology, People and Design: AI, Big Data to Innovate and Address Stakeholders' Needs", exploring how digital technologies can be applied to create innovative, user-centred solutions across a range of sectors, including healthcare.
Professor Ahmed-Kristensen joined the INDEX Initiative for the Digital Economy at UCL from the Royal College of Art, where she served as Head of Design Products and Chair of Engineering Design. Prior to this, she was Deputy Head and Professor of Design Engineering at Imperial College London's Dyson School of Design Engineering, where she also led the Global Innovation Design programme in partnership with the Royal College of Art. She previously spent thirteen years at the Technical University of Denmark, leading the Design Engineering and Innovation section.
Her research focuses on design engineering and the integration of digital technologies into design processes, with particular interests in creativity and cognition, data and knowledge structuring, data-driven product development, and the prediction and measurement of user experiences. Working across disciplines including engineering, computing, psychology and design, she has collaborated with organisations such as Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems, Novo Nordisk and GN Netcom to develop innovative approaches to knowledge management, natural language processing and user-centred product design.
During the seminar, Professor Ahmed-Kristensen highlighted how artificial intelligence and big data can be used to better understand stakeholder needs, support innovation, and improve the design of products and services. Her insights provided researchers with valuable perspectives on the intersection of technology, people and design, and the importance of human-centred approaches in developing impactful digital health solutions.
