EIT Health Morning Health Talks: Beyond the money – Essential resources needed to effectively leverage innovations in healthcare | 29 May 2025 | Tallinn
🗓 29 May 2025
🕙 10:00–12:30 (morning coffee and networking from 9:30)
📍 Workland Vabaduse, Tallinn
💻 Hybrid format (online participation available)
Healthcare innovation is not only about funding – true impact requires systemic readiness and practical resources for implementation. In this EIT Health Morning Health Talks session, we’ll explore how healthcare providers perceive innovation, what challenges they face, and what motivates or supports successful adoption.
This is a great opportunity for the health community to come together and discuss the future of innovation in healthcare, not just in theory, but in everyday practice.
Agenda:
9:30–10:00 Morning coffee & networking
10:00–10:10 Welcome and introduction – Dr. Jaanus Pikani, Tartu Biotechnology Park
10:10–11:00 Experience sharing: success stories and collaboration lessons
– Kristel Amjärv, Pealinna Perearstikeskus
– Jürgen Lorenz, Menken Trials
– Gertu Sõerunurk, Tartu University Hospital
11:00–11:50 Roundtable discussion – Key challenges and motivators for adopting innovation in healthcare settings
11:50–12:00 Key takeaways
12:00–12:30 Networking
Presentations will be delivered in English, and roundtable discussions will be conducted in Estonian.
Speakers
Dr. Kristel Amjärv, MD, is an experienced medical leader and family physician with over 35 years in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors. She currently serves as the Head of Pealinna Perearstid Family Doctor Centre and Ülemiste Health Centres, where she also works as a practising GP.
With 20 years as Country Manager at the Finnish pharmaceutical company Orion Pharma and 15 years in leadership roles in the medical field, Dr. Amjärv brings deep expertise in clinical care and organisational management. She has a strong interest in the development of Estonia’s family medicine system.
Jürgen Lorenz is the co-founder of Menken Trials, a company building intelligent clinical research management solutions to simplify compliance and ensure audit-readiness. Before this, Jürgen worked in anti-money laundering and regulatory compliance, designing scalable, rule-based systems to detect anomalies and manage risk in highly regulated environments. That experience deeply shaped how I now approach clinical research. At Menken Trials, Jürgen applies those same principles — structure, traceability, automation — to the world of clinical trials. Jürgen works closely with healthcare providers and research teams to understand the real-world challenges they face and help bring meaningful improvements to how trials are run: smarter oversight, fewer manual tasks, and better audit outcomes.
Gertu Sõerunurk is a healthcare innovation enthusiast and project manager at Tartu University Hospital. Gertu has a background in physiotherapy and health sciences. She is passionate about driving innovation in healthcare and has been actively involved in promoting service design within the hospital. Together with a colleague, she has trained hospital staff in service design methods, fostering a culture of innovative thinking and entrepreneurship.
Dr Jaanus Pikani has been a practising surgeon in head and neck oncology, hospital manager of the National Cancer Centre and Tartu University Hospitals, secretary general of the Ministry of Social Affairs of Estonia and the chief of staff of the President of Estonia.
Dr Pikani has been an active member of the team that orchestrated the transition of the Estonian healthcare from the Soviet-type system to one of the most cost-efficient healthcare systems globally. Dr Pikani was among the initiators and architects of the Estonian Genome Project, a globally unique population-based health and genome databank of 200,000 participants (ca 20% of the entire Estonian population). Jaanus is a founder and board member of Tartu Biotechnology Park, an innovation support entity for technology innovation-intensive business development.
