Urbanisation and Health - Promoting Sustainable Solutions

The University of Copenhagen is the oldest University in Denmark - founded in 1479, and with over 38,000 students and more than 9,000 employees. The purpose of the University is to conduct research and provide education to the highest academic level. Based in Denmark's capital city it is one of the top research institutions in Europe.

Universidad Politécnica de Madrid is the oldest and largest Spanish technical university, with more than 4.000 faculty members, 38.000 undergraduate students and 6.000 postgraduates in 21 Schools which cover most of engineering disciplines. More than 2,400 researchers carry out their activity at the UPM, grouped in 204 Research Groups, 19 Research Centers and 55 Laboratories. The intense collaboration with governmental bodies and industry guarantees that research at the UPM offers real solutions to real-world problems. Recently, European Commission has approved the EELISA (European Engineering Learning Innovation and Science Alliance) lead by Universidad Politécnica de Madrid in collaboration with other universities across Europe in order to reinforce the committment of European Universities towards the Sustainable Development Goals and the current social challenges of XXI century.

The University of Coimbra was founded in 1290 and constitutes a reference in higher education and R&I in Portugal, with academic reputation recognized worldwide. It includes eight faculties and over 30 research units, covering almost all study fields (Engineering, Technology, Life and Health Sciences, Architecture, Economy, Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities, Psychology, Pharmacy and Sports) as well as several bodies devoted to interdisciplinary research, arts and culture. UC offers advanced training programs in different areas that bind to technology, being considered by EC as one of the 20 most inspiring cases in Europe. Knowledge and technology transfer is at its core, resulting in successful initiatives, like IPN Incubator, TECBis- Business accelerator unit and Biocant, and in the creation of more than 200 spin-offs, most of them health-related.

EIT Health was established in 2015, as a ‘knowledge and innovation community’ (KIC) of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). The EIT is made up of various KICs who each focus on a different sector, or area, of innovation – in our case, that is health and aging. The idea behind the EIT KICs is that innovation flourishes best when the right people are brought together to share expertise. The so called ‘knowledge triangle’, is the principle that when experts from business, research and education work together as one, an optimal environment for innovation is created.