The Dutch business delegation was formed by twenty-five organisations who were eager to gain more knowledge about the two German states and network during the mission that took place from the 10th – 12th of October.
One of the German states, Rhineland-Palatinate launched the “Gesundheit & Pflege 2020” program with the focus on the connection between outpatient and inpatient care. The biggest challenges include demographic changes (ageing), securing good care, maintaining small rural hospitals and safely using eHealth. Naturally, there was a well-balanced mix of Dutch innovative eHealth and elderly care organisations in the business delegation like Active Cues, Sensara, Zo-Dichtbij and VANAD Group, who were all keen to present their smart solutions!
The mission was particularly special due to the presence of Minister Sigrid Kraag, Minister Hugo de Jonge, His Majesty Willem-Alexander and Her Majesty Maxima who also attended the Trade Dinner and the visit to Universitätsklinikum des Saarlandes (UKS) where a cooperation agreement was signed between Logis.P and UKS in the presence of the Dutch King and Queen.
In addition to the visits to Caritas (largest care organisation in Germany), the IKK Experience Center, the Universitätsklinikum des Saarlandes and Fraunhofer-Institut für Experimentelles Software, there were also workshops, networking opportunities and individual matchmaking.
The power of networking during the mission can be best captured by one moment. At Caritas, one of the Dutch participants, Active Cues pitched his smart solution ‘Tovertafel’ to a group of invited German participants. The ‘Tovertafel Original’ is a fun care innovation that connects older people in the late stage of dementia.
After having finished, the director of a German elderly care centre said: “What a great solution! Unfortunately, I’m here only by myself but what I would really like to do is to invite you back at a later point. Then I can gather several of my colleague directors and see a demo of your product because I think it would be very interesting for them as well. Would you be able to do that?”. Of course, the answer was a resounding yes.
This, in a nutshell, shows what a mission can bring to Dutch companies – it’s about that one magic moment!
