Organised by EDIH Health Hub and JOIST Innovation Park, the Open Innovation Challenge 2025 is a flagship part of InnoHealth Forum 2025—the leading conference and expo on medtech, pharma, and digital health in Southeast Europe.
This year, we’re calling on startups, researchers, and interdisciplinary teams to submit market-ready or near-ready innovations that tackle the biggest unsolved challenges in healthcare. Finalists will be selected to pitch live at InnoHealth 2025, in front of a jury of investors, corporates, clinicians, and public sector leaders.
Structure
- Pre-event call for solutions in selected themes
- Selection of 8 finalists to pitch live at the event
- Jury: mix of VCs, corporates, public institutions
- Prizes: to be announced
2025 Focus Areas
We welcome challenges to be met across the following pillars:
A. Early detection and intervention of atrial fibrillation (AF) and associated stroke risk factors.
| By Medtronic Hellas & CardioSchool
Overview
Medtronic Hellas and CardioSchool (3rd Cardiology Department, AUTh) are excited to announce an Innovation Challenge aimed at revolutionizing the early detection and intervention of atrial fibrillation (AF) and associated stroke risk factors.
Objectives
- Early Detection: Develop advanced diagnostic tools and techniques to identify atrial fibrillation at its earliest stages, even in asymptomatic patients.
- Risk Stratification: Create innovative methods to assess and stratify patients based on their risk factors for stroke, ensuring timely and targeted interventions.
- Intervention Strategies: Design and implement effective intervention strategies to manage atrial fibrillation and mitigate the risk of stroke.
- Patient Monitoring & Empowerment: Develop continuous monitoring solutions to track patient health and detect any changes in their condition in real-time, combined with solutions that improve patients’ health literacy and self-care level.
- Data Integration: Utilize big data and artificial intelligence to integrate patient data from various sources, providing a comprehensive view of patient health and facilitating personalized treatment plans.
B. Oncology, Prostate cancer
| By Bayer Greece
Prostate cancer is the second most frequently diagnosed malignancy among men worldwide and the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death in this population. The number of prostate cancer diagnoses is increasing, possibly due to the overall rise in life expectancy. At Bayer, we strive to improve outcomes and make a difference for men who are at risk of or have been diagnosed early with prostate cancer.
Objectives
We are seeking digital solutions that embrace cutting-edge technology for the comprehensive care and management of patients, with a particular interest in remote monitoring / self-monitoring for Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA).
Challenge Details
Eligibility
- Startups (MVP stage and beyond)
- University spin-offs
- Research teams with commercialization potential
- SMEs with an innovation angle
- Healthcare professionals
Key Dates
- Applications Open: mid-July 2025
- Deadline to Apply: 21 September 2025, 22.00 (EET)
- Finalists Announced: 24 September 2025
- Live Pitch at InnoHealth: 26–27 September 2025
Applications
Proposals submitted by working groups should be submitted in pptx (PowerPoint) format, with a maximum of 12 slides. In addition, proposals may be accompanied by clarifications – annotations in Word text, up to 500 words.
The proposals of the working groups should include the following sections:
- Identification of need / definition of a need-based framework for action (3 slides)
- Existing solutions (1 slide)
- Proposal to the challenge (2-3 slides)
- Budget – Budget (1 slide)
- The working group (1 slide) (2-3 slides)
- Expected results – Risk analysis (1-2 slides)
Teams participating in the Open Innovation Challenge can consist of two (2) to five (5) people. Only natural persons aged 18 years or older are eligible to participate in the teams. The maximum number of teams participating in final phase of the Open Innovation is eight (8). In the event of entries exceeding the maximum number, the selected proposals will be evaluated by the competent committee on the basis of the evaluation criteria set out below, which will be used for the final ranking.
Criteria against which proposals will be evaluated
- The characteristics of the working group.
- The maturity of the proposal.
- The relevance of the proposal in relation to the challenge.
- The realism of the proposal (as a whole) and its constituent parts (objectives, budget, expected results).
Evaluation Committee
- Sonia Mousavere, Head of Communications, Public Affairs, Science and Sustainability
- Thanassis Kotsanis, Medical Director Greece & Cyprus, Southern Mediterranean & Black Sea (SMBS) Cluster Medical Director
- Dimitris Nikas, Managing Director Medtronic Hellas
- Spyros Arsenis, Head of Business Innovation Development | ΝΒG Business Seeds, Group Business Strategy Sector
- Constantinos Bakogiannis, MD PhD. Cardiologist. Reader 3rd Cardiology Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh)
At the end of the evaluation, prizes will be awarded to the top three proposals in the overall score.
Prizes
Upon completion of the evaluation process, the teams receiving the highest scores will be awarded the following prizes:
1st Prize:
1,500 € & Support for the application process to the EIC Pre-Accelerator (valued at 5,000€) & Direct entry to Phase B of the Innovation & Technology Competition by the National Bank of Greece.
2nd Prize:
1,000€ & Access to services of the WORK area, valued at 1,000€ (available for use up to one year after the event and until the total amount is fully utilized).
3rd Prize:
500€ & One-year membership to the JOIST Community (October 2025 – October 2026).
All awarded teams will also have the opportunity to be promoted during the period March 2026 – September 2026 through the services of the Meet & Connect area at JOIST, choosing up to 2 of the following offerings:
– Participation in one JOIST Podcast episode
– Co-organization of an event (onsite, online, or vidcast)
– A short interview for broadcast via JOIST’s YouTube channel and social media
– Participation in an event panel discussion
– Closed networking event, targeted to a specific audience (with VIP invitations)
Each team may select up to two (2) of the above offerings.