Prof. Dr Stefan Ouma, Director of the Institute of African Studies (IAS), also welcomed the experts from around the world to the Research Centre for African Studies (FZA) at the University of Bayreuth, where the conference opened. He emphasised that African studies must increasingly be linked to other fields of research. At the same time, he made it clear that resource shortages in the healthcare sector are often the result of political decisions. With regard to social developments, he also pointed out that evidence-based science could come under pressure worldwide and that researchers are, in some cases, exposed to considerable hostility.
Prof. Dr Aldo Faisal, holder of the Chair in Digital Health & Data Science at the University of Bayreuth, then opened the academic part of the conference with his keynote speech on Holistic AI. In his talk, he demonstrated how AI integrates various types of health data to form a holistic picture of a patient’s health over time, thereby opening up new possibilities for care. At the same time, he highlighted the challenges posed by versatile AI models in terms of evidence generation, regulation, health economic evaluation and reimbursement.
With further keynote speeches by Prof. Dr. mult. Eckhard Nagel (Head of the Institute for Medical Management and Health Sciences at the University of Bayreuth and the Medical University of Lusatia – Carl Thiem) and Prof. Dr. Gustav Tinghög (Linköping University, Sweden), as well as numerous academic presentations in parallel and organised sessions, the conference provided, in particular, opportunities for professional exchange amongst the participants. A conference dinner at the Liebesbier, along with a cultural programme followed by a reception at the Iwalewa-Haus, rounded off the event. The wide range of opportunities for interaction facilitated a fruitful and stimulating dialogue across disciplinary and national boundaries. “There is a great deal of one-to-one conversation and discussion, even outside the individual panels and workshops,” said Prof. Dr Michael Lauerer, Chair of Medical Management and Health Sciences and one of the conference presidents.
The conference made it clear that the challenges facing modern healthcare systems can only be overcome through collaboration. With guests from more than 10 countries and a range of disciplines, the ISPH conference in Bayreuth provided an important platform for this and, at the same time, sent a strong signal in favour of international and interdisciplinary cooperation in times of global change.
