On April 9, 2025, the MCSC Impact Day 2025 took place at the Golden Tulip Warsaw Centre. The event was attended by leading experts from the medical sector, representatives from hospitals, business, public institutions, and a large group of innovators.
The goal of the meeting was a joint debate on the future of healthcare. Participants had the opportunity to take part in panel discussions, startup presentations, and the premiere of the report summarizing the 3rd edition of the Mother and Child Startup Challenge.
MCSC Report – summary and new beginning
During the event, a report was presented summarizing last year’s edition of the competition – achievements, but also difficulties. The document was enriched with a guide of good practices supporting the development of innovation in medicine.
“We want the actions presented in it to become a standard of cooperation between innovators and hospitals. We want a startup coming to a medical facility to already have a general overview of what the cooperation will look like, what to expect, and what questions they should be ready for,” says Tomasz Maciejewski, MD, PhD, director of the Institute of Mother and Child.
“The collection of good practices was created with startups in mind that were not prepared for contact with a hospital or imagined it differently,” emphasizes Małgorzata Maj, MD, coordinator of the handbook. – “We included information on, among other things, pilot organization, financing, law, marketing, communication, and a certain savoir-vivre accepted in the environment. We want to prepare innovators to undertake cooperation with a hospital – based on our experiences and knowledge. This will save unnecessary nerves for both decision-makers in the medical facility and the innovators themselves,” she adds.
Hospitals are a specific enclave. The main goal is saving the health and lives of patients, so understanding the needs of medics is crucial. Even the best-conceived product will not meet expectations if its implementation is too costly or time-consuming. Awareness of budget or infrastructural limitations is essential.
Equally important are issues related to the use of image. It happens that after initial discussions, startups consider cooperation a certainty, boasting about it on social media, and even using the hospital’s logo in their graphics. Asking for approval of materials before publication is not just an elegant nod to the hospital, but also protects one’s interests. Unlawful use of image can entail legal steps, which some people are unaware of.
“Our guide is aimed at startups that are at the pilot stage. We want to provide valuable tips that will translate into real improvement in contacts between hospitals and creators of innovative solutions. The compendium is dedicated to anyone considering entering hospitals with their innovation,” summarizes Radosław Nowak, Head of the Implementation Department – Center for Innovation and Artificial Intelligence.
4th edition of the competition – new opportunities
The presented report symbolically concluded the competition’s previous formula. After rebranding, the initiative enters its next chapter and from 2025 operates as MCSC Hospital Leadership Innovation.
During the meeting, the changes introduced within the 4th edition were briefly discussed. The presentation of the ecosystem of hospitals involved in the competition’s development generated great excitement. 7 hospitals participated in the 3rd edition:
- Institute of Mother and Child,
- Bonifraterskie Centrum Medyczne Sp. z o.o.,
- Polish Mother’s Memorial Hospital Research Institute,
- Pomeranian Hospitals Ltd.,
- University Clinical Centre in Gdańsk,
- Ludwik Zamenhof University Children’s Clinical Hospital in Białystok
- and Prof. Dr. St. Popowski Voivodeship Specialist Children’s Hospital in Olsztyn.
Now, additional facilities have joined the ecosystem:
- Central Clinical Hospital of the Medical University of Lodz,
- National Institute of Cardiology,
- Warmian-Masurian Centre for Lung Diseases in Olsztyn,
- National Institute of Geriatrics, Rheumatology and Rehabilitation,
- Children’s Hospital in Dziekanów Leśny,
- Dr. Jan Biziel University Hospital No. 2 in Bydgoszcz,
- University Clinical Hospital in Poznan,
- Jan Mikulicz-Radecki University Clinical Hospital in Wroclaw,
- J. Gromkowski Voivodeship Specialist Hospital in Wroclaw.
They form a network of Co-organizing and Partner Hospitals, and thanks to their commitment to promoting innovation, they jointly build a space for more effective implementations. This network is constantly expanding, and facilities interested in joining the initiative are invited to contact us: dzial.ai@imid.med.pl.
Experts on the future of innovation in medicine
MCSC Impact Day 2025 included three key panel discussions, during which experts and practitioners shared their knowledge and experience. The first was led by Diana Żochowska, head of Medonet. The conversation titled “Model of cooperation for public bodies – how to better collaborate on support programs for innovators?” featured:
- Karolina Nowak, PharmD – Director of the Department of Innovation and International Cooperation, Medical Research Agency,
- Dr. Barbara Pastuszek-Lipińska – Expert in the Strategic Management Department, National Centre for Research and Development,
- Jakub Adamski – Director of the Cooperation Department, Patient Rights Ombudsman.
Participants jointly considered how the public sector can support startups and R&D projects more flexibly and effectively. They also shared their experiences regarding public-private partnerships and the search for proven support mechanisms and foreign models that could be adapted to Polish conditions.
The next discussion – titled “Next-generation hospitals – how to effectively introduce innovations and build their acceptance?” – presented the perspective of medical facilities. Their representatives:
- Alicja Karney, MD, PhD – Deputy Director for Clinical Affairs at the Institute of Mother and Child,
- Wioletta Śląska-Zyśk – Director of the Warmian-Masurian Centre for Lung Diseases in Olsztyn,
- Jacek Graliński – President of the Management Board of Bonifraterskie Centrum Medyczne Sp. z o.o.,
- Dariusz Szplit – Head of the Department of Innovation, Analytics and Medical Technology Implementation at the University Clinical Centre in Gdańsk
– shared their expectations and experiences related to implementing modern technologies. The moderator of this part of the meeting was Tomasz Maciejewski, MD, PhD – Director of IMiD.
The conversation focused on the real needs of facilities and the role of organizational culture in adapting innovations. Speakers pointed out the need to focus on better communicating needs to avoid unsuitable technologies. They also shared reflections on the process of selecting, implementing, and scaling innovations.
The last panel was dedicated to startups changing the future of medicine. The discussion with the provocative title: “Assumptions versus reality – so who needs this competition?” aroused curiosity and much emotion. Laureates of previous editions of the Mother and Child Startup Challenge participated, sharing their experiences and successes in developing innovative solutions with the audience. They talked about the challenges and real benefits that participation in MCSC brought them.
Participants discussed whether and how competitions can become an effective tool for accelerating the implementation of innovations in the healthcare system, as well as what can be improved to support startups even more effectively.
The meeting was led by Paweł Zieliński – head of marketing at Consonance, and the speakers were:
- Maciej Stanuch – MedApp (winner 1st edition)
- Wojciech Kukwa, MD, PhD, Hab. – Clebre (winner 2nd edition)
- Żaneta Krawczyk-Antońska – Inventmed (winner 2nd edition)
- Tomasz Bartosiak – UES (winner 3rd edition)
A separate point on the agenda was the presentation by Dr. Krzysztof Bronowicki, who spoke about his conclusions from testing CarnaLife Holo at the Institute of Mother and Child. We also had the opportunity to listen to presentations from our Partners: Joanna Broy spoke on behalf of EIT Health, and Natalia Świrska represented OVH cloud.
Presentations of groundbreaking solutions
Event participants also had the opportunity to visit the exhibition space, where startups presented innovative medical technologies and solutions. It was an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences, establish new contacts, and get inspired by new ideas. Among the exhibitors were Semi Robotics – creators of the FIDI feeding robot, Uhura Bionics, who aim to solve problems with atypical speech, as well as the aforementioned MedApp and Laserobaria.
Successful networking, interesting discussions, and the opportunity to talk with innovators – this is how MCSC Impact Day 2025 can be summarized in a few words. The event showed that the key to good changes in healthcare lies in the collaboration of representatives from different environments. We are pleased that so many people took part in the event. We invite you to follow our channels to stay up-to-date with the topic of medical innovations.
