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Ignite is an executive level summit for leaders across sectors to meet and positively impact medical innovation through a series of debates
Ignite is a summit with a difference it brings together leaders in medical innovation to challenge each other, learn from other sectors and develop new ways of thinking and working, to change the future of medical innovation and accelerate progress.
In 2023, the summit focused on Medicial Innovations in the context of Health Inequalities. The injustice and impact of health ineqaulities are well recognisied, as is it's relationship to socio-economic deprivation. While acknowledging these truths, the Ignite summit sought to explore a distinct perspective, namely:
- Ways in which innovation in health and care delivery, alongside funding, science and technology, can advance this agenda; and
- Conversely, how can we ensure that medical innovation does not inadvertently aggravate inequity.
Debates included:
- Personalised Public Health provides a route to embracing all determinants of health, leveraging advances in science and technology
- Hospitals should be doing more to address the inequalities agenda, leveraging their specialist research and innovation expertise
- Health and care provision require fundamental transformation to address health inequalities
- Integrated Care Systems (ICSs)/Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) can rise to the challenges of addressing inequality
FAQs
- What are the wider benefits of Ignite?
We hope that Ignite will spark unique and inspiring discussions that will lead to progressive change in the debate and practice around medical innovation. The potential benefits to individuals, institutions and the sector are great.
- What happened in previous summits?
Ignite summit is in its sixth year, with the first two iterations in London, the third in South Africa with funding from UKRI, and the fourth, fifth and sixth iterations virtually and in collaboration with the Northern Health Science Alliance (NHSA).
Over the years, previous speakers included:
- Prof Michael Marmot, (Professor of Epidemiology, Institute of Health Equity, UCL
- Frances O'Callaghan, (Designate Chief Exectutive, North Central Integrated Care Board)
- Dr Ian Campbell (Interim Executive Chair, Innovate UK)
- Dr Graham Spittle (Chief Technology Officer, IBM Public Sector Consulting)
- Professor Michael Rawlins (Chair of the MHRA)
- Dame Fiona Caldicott (National Data Guardian for Health and Care)
- Ms Glaudina Loots (Director of Health Innovation, South African Department of Science and Technology)
- Dr Elena de Angelis (Global Health Director, GlaxoSmithKline)
- How will privacy be ensured?
Participants are asked to abide by Chatham House Rule during and after the summit. The aim is to create open discussions where challenging opinions are encouraged.
- How will the summit be evaluated?
UCL will be evaluating both the content and delivery via surveys and optional interviews.
- How can alumni remain involved?
Following the summit, Ignite alumni will be offered CASMI Fellowship and have the opportunity to meet previous summit attendees and participate in further networking and engagement opportunities organised by CASMI and UCL.
- Who should I contact regarding further queries?
Nasema Uddin, Ignite Programme Manager & Translational Training Manager at the Academic Careers Office via nasema.uddin@ucl.ac.uk
Reports from previous summits:
Collaborations
Since 2020, Ignite has worked with the Northern Health Science Alliance (NHSA) to deliver the summit.
Who is sponsoring Ignite?
Ignite is a partnership between the Collaboration for the Advancement of Sustainable Medical Innovation (CASMI) and the UCL Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). Ignite is a part of a wider drive for investment in developing new models for medical innovation and building capacity in relevant research areas.
Ignite has also received funding from the UKRI Global Challenges Research Fund for the summit in 2019 (which focused on medical innovation around sub-Saharan Africa).
