Hayley Haggarty, event director of BIOMEDevice Digital Express, spoke to MPN editor Laura Hughes about the virtual event.
In summary, what is the BIOMEDevice Digital Express?
BIOMEDevice Digital Express is a completely digital event we are offering the medtech community to learn and connect with one another in a time when in-person meetings are not possible. Taking place Thursday, August 6th, the event’s schedule has been curated to focus on how the industry can continue to innovate despite the disruptions surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic. We have several educational sessions lined up as well as activities, such as digital speed networking and trivia happy hour to keep the event dynamic and fun as well.
The event will host a special keynote panel that is focused on the future of surgical robotics and how this technology is being incorporated in almost every field of surgery today such as cardiovascular, interventional radiology, and more, and how the industry can utilise these offerings to allow more access to every patient. It’s a strong group of representatives coming from MEDX Ventures Group, Vocalis Health, Philips, and Activ Surgical who will explore the exciting future for robotic surgery — I encourage all attendees to check it out.
Hayley Haggarty, event director, BIOMEDevice Digital Express
Who would benefit from attending the online event?
Everyone who is currently working in the medtech/biomedical industry and those who are interested in entering the field. We want the event to be accessible, hence why it is free to attend. There are several sessions that we’ve purposely designed to appeal to a broad range of interests, with a central focus on hot topics in the industry now.
If you are currently a medtech professional uncertain about the industry’s current job market, industry veteran Phil Nachman, president of Nachman Biomedical, will speak to today’s dynamic job climate and its unknowns in the era of Covid-19 and how to navigate through some medical device companies who are slowing their hiring or unfortunately laying workers off in his session, “What’s Happening in Medtech: Where are the Jobs Now and in 2021?” Definitely come prepared with any career questions you may have for Phil, as he’s looking forward to providing insight and advice on how one can keep their current position, find a better one, or even secure a promotion.
What topics will be covered during the event?
Earlier in 2020, before shelter-in-place orders were enacted, we saw the health innovation market raise $4.2 billion in funding alone. This was record-high funding in areas of telemedicine, drug delivery systems, and medical 3D printing, basically all things digital health.
BIOMEDevice Digital Express and its curated conference agenda will reflect the aforementioned topics where digital health innovation is being heavily invested and tapped into. We are excited to have Boston Scientific’s Digital Health Solutions strategic advisor, Naeem Hashmi, speak to how on-demand healthcare in the form of apps and wearables are bringing new challenges to R&D and front-end product development engineers, and how they can choose the appropriate type of technologies to build into their medical devices. Specifically, he’ll be giving his strategic insight into designing and implementing the next wave of digital products that will create a unique value proposition through the lens of health providers and hospitals.
What are the costs associated with attending the webinars and lunch & learns on offer?
BIOMEDevice Digital Express is free to attend, so, I highly recommend attendees take full advantage of these expert-led sessions and lunch & learns that usually require a cost at a live event, all within the comfort of their home.
We have two lunch & learns planned for the event. Velentium’s principal security architect, Christopher Gates, who will take a deep dive on how to adopt a secure development process into an existing development lifecycle while creating the artefacts needed for premarket approval and minimising the impact on the existing processes. Not only that, Protolabs will host a lunch & learn with their own Jeff Schipper, director of special operations, and Christopher Stevens, senior R&D engineer, who will lend their insight on how to eliminate future product development life cycle and supply chain risk, while discussing what comes next given today’s environment.
How does this event complement the BIOMEDevice events which are taking place in venues in person?
Though virtual, attendees of BIOMEDevice Digital Express can still connect with other industry peers and see what is happening in the industry now. The digital offering only seeks to complement future live events moving forward by offering accessible educational content during this time when meeting in-person is not safe for everyone. We strive to provide attendees the opportunity to learn and still connect from thought leaders and experts from the convenience of their home.
Following this event, we want to continue to provide more resources to the medtech community through our next event, BIOMEDigital, taking place November 4th-5th, which will be a more expansive digital offering with two days of content, networking, and a virtual expo hall. Returning trade events also include BIOMEDevice San Jose, based in the heart of the U.S. Silicon Valley which is scheduled for December 9th-10th as well as BIOMEDevice Boston taking place May 5th-6th, 2021. Mark your calendars.
Is this a one-off event, or will this be an annual event going forward?
Depending on the community response to BIOMEDevice Digital Express on August 6th, we are looking into developing more virtual events in the future with the sole purpose that it is pertinent and valuable to the medtech community. I recommend those interested in more virtual events such as these to keep tabs through our social media channels such as Twitter for the latest information and updates. Stay tuned for more information on BIOMEDigital this coming November 4th and 5th.
How can people register for this event?
If interested in attending BIOMEDevice Digital Express, you can save your spot via the main BIOMEDevice Boston website. Take a good look at the complete schedule since we have a lot planned to choose which sessions you would like to receive reminders and updates for. Also, don’t forget to sign up for our Speed Networking to connect digitally with your industry peers. We expect great engagement. I look forward to seeing you virtually!
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Although an online event may lack certain in-person elements as with a live trade event, I strongly urge all attendees to explore every session and activity scheduled, even if it is a topic that you are not familiar with, to make the most of their day and experience—all for free. I guarantee there is something new to glean from that will help your career and business.
Furthermore, we wanted to shine a spotlight on the medtech community who are battling the pandemic by either pivoting their supply chain to produce ventilators or donating and supplying PPE to our first responders, and even more behind-the-scenes. Through producing events such as these, we hope we can better serve the medtech community to learn and grow from each other amidst these unparalleled times to provide the next medical solution.