From Research to Societal Change – NOVA’s Digital Health Model Recognised as a European Lighthouse

Research led at NOVA University Lisbon, through UNINOVA’s Centre for Technology and Systems (CTS), enabled the creation of a pioneering model that bridges digital health, environmental monitoring and citizen engagement. This model was piloted at regional level in Madeira and is now inspiring replication across Europe and Asia.

The initiative addressed one of the most pressing societal challenges of our time: how to promote healthier, more resilient communities in the face of ageing, pandemics and climate-related risks. The change achieved is multifaceted, improving health outcomes, empowering citizens, enhancing public policy tools and reinforcing regional innovation. It is the product of over five years of international interdisciplinary research, co-creation with stakeholders and implementation through European-funded projects.

Thousands of older adults directly benefited from the large-scale piloting of innovative digital health technologies. These included personalised mobile health applications, wearable biosensors, fall-prevention systems and telemonitoring platforms, enabling older citizens to manage their health proactively. In parallel, continuous wastewater surveillance, developed in collaboration with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), provided early warnings of public health risks, spanning major public health risks, like pandemics and emerging societal challenges as substance misuse.

The model’s integrated approach to health, environment and citizen engagement allowed Madeira to become the first European Super Site for wastewater-based public health monitoring, referenced by the European Commission as a unique testbed in Europe. This work informed public health strategy and strengthened health system preparedness through advanced analytics and data-driven foresight. It also inspired participation, empowered citizens and created lasting engagement between communities, researchers and policymakers through the launch of the Digital Health and Wellbeing Pavilion in Funchal, a first-of-its-kind public space where citizens explore, co-design and test digital health solutions. The Pavilion became a physical and symbolic hub in Europe for inclusive innovation, digital health literacy and generational dialogue.

These achievements were only possible through strong institutional and cross-sectoral collaboration. The initiative was implemented locally with the support of the governmental and healthcare authorities, the Madeira’s Institute for Development and Technology Innovation (IDEA), and through partnerships with municipalities, universities, companies and international research centres across Europe. The European Commission recognised the societal impact of this work in a formal letter sent to the President of Madeira’s Regional Government and to the Mayor of Funchal.

This sustained engagement also led to structural impact at the educational level with the creation of the new Master’s in Digital Skills for Health at NOVA, ensuring that future professionals can build upon and expand the legacy of this initiative. The model has become a recognised reference benchmark across Europe and Asia, with ongoing pilot replications demonstrating its scalability and relevance.

The initiative was implemented through several major EU-funded research projects coordinated or co-led by NOVA researchers at UNINOVA/CTS. These include projects that supported older adults with chronic diseases through personalised digital tools (SmartBEAR), delivered telemedicine and intensive care platforms during the COVID-19 crisis (ICU4Covid), developed interoperable electronic health records for citizens across Europe (Smart4Health), advanced telerehabilitation solutions using intelligent decision-support (TeleRehaB), monitored public health threats through environmental analytics (WasteWater Sentinel), enhanced digital trust in educational and professional credentials using blockchain technologies (QualiChain), and the International Master’s Program Empowering Healthcare through Digital Technology (DS4Health).

These results demonstrate not only depth and scale, but a clear trajectory from research to sustained, measurable, and system-wide societal impact. The model also aligns with key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including advancing good health and wellbeing through prevention and resilience (SDG 3 – Targets 3.4 and 3.d), promoting digital skills and lifelong learning (SDG 4 – Targets 4.4 and 4.7), improving environmental health via wastewater monitoring (SDG 6 – Target 6.3), fostering innovation and research capacity (SDG 9 – Target 9.5), and enabling strategic, cross-sectoral collaboration (SDG 17 – Targets 17.6 and 17.17).

NOVA’s role was central throughout as a scientific driver, trusted HEI and European partner and institutional innovator. The initiative exemplifies how academic research can deliver systemic change beyond publications or patents by influencing policy, transforming lives and setting global benchmarks.

This is more than a case study. It is a model of how research excellence, when anchored in real-world needs and deployed with humility, conviction and ambition, can create ripple effects well beyond its origin. As the European Commission stated in its letter, this is a best practice in societal impact. A testament to the pivotal role of UNINOVA/CTS in advancing applied research, and a confirmation of NOVA’s leadership in shaping the future of health, science and innovation.