As a part of the development activities of its growth and innovation ecosystem, the city of Helsinki and Lean Entries (part of Labquality) implemented the Regulatory Essentials in Health Tech training series in spring 2021. The series was targeted for the local researcher teams and startups in the health tech sector.
Helsinki aims to remain one of the most fascinating locations in Europe for innovative startups and the most attractive base of know-how for enterprises and individuals who crave to make the world a better place. In particular, Helsinki aims at strengthening collaboration in research, development and innovation activities and promoting the growth of companies. The entire city is being developed as a platform for experimentation and creation of novel business. The wellbeing of startups has a special focus. The training series was achieved within the 6Aika: Ecosystems of Growth program by the city of Helsinki, focusing in part on the health tech innovation ecosystem and the competitiveness of the Helsinki region.
”In the Helsinki region the demand and the need for such a training series was already recognised. Due to the positive feedback received from the cities of Oulu and Tampere regarding the concept established by Lean Entries, we decided to implement the relatively comprehensive training series also in Helsinki. The investment paid off: 90% of the respondents would recommend the series to their colleagues.”
The objective of the training was to efficiently lift the regulatory know-how of the early stage health tech companies and planning stage researcher teams. By taking part in the training the startups and the teams gained the needed support to comply with the medical device standards and requirements and could thereby save resources and maximise their potential in the highly competitive and regulated sector.
”The training series has also been a useful exercise for the city of Helsinki to find best practices in transferring crucial know-how for the health ecosystem. The birth of new enterprises and the success of those enterprises on the market is essential for the ecosystem and, therefore, for the vitality of the city.”
The training concept trailored for the Helsinki region consisted of 10 webinar sessions and personalised coaching for nearly 20 research teams and startups. The teams and startups who attended the coaching were also given access to the Entries platform provided by Lean Entries, making it possible for the teams to examine the qualification and classification of their products and the subsequent steps necessary for placing the medical device on the market. The online implementation of the webinar series made it flexible to manage. Also, the opportunity to access the webinar recordings made it possible for the teams and startups to match the series with their busy schedules.
”The collaboration with Lean Entries was fluent and the training contents were adapted to our needs. In addition, we experienced that the option to replay the webinars was beneficial for the attendees and many of the teams actually utilised this option! By the end of the series all parties came to miss the opportunity to meet face-to-face and build networks in the region. We are hopeful to connect the online experience with live events when the corona epidemic gives in.”
”Lean Entries holds fine means to transmit a massive amount of challenging information for the startups and researcher teams in our region. The digital Entries platform and webinars they provide enable an efficient formation of common language and basic know-how on the medical device regulations. From this basis we valued it highly how Lean Entries could nominate the most suitable coach for each team and startup and customise the coaching session for the specific needs of the teams and their innovations. The concept was valued high due to its clear benefits gained en route to the international market.”
