Emilia-Romagna: Clusters4Health’s Deep Dive Days

Emilia-Romagna has become a veritable hub for innovation and healthcare cooperation thanks to the Deep Dive Days, organised by Clust-ER Health Emilia-Romagna as part of the Clusters4Health project. Over two days, Ukrainian and European healthcare experts shared experiences, ideas and best practices, building concrete bridges between different healthcare systems united by the same mission: to innovate, cooperate and make patient care more sustainable.

The Clusters4Health project aims to strengthen the resilience and competitiveness of Ukraine’s healthcare sector by 2027, by promoting four key strategic priorities: innovation, international cooperation, sustainable development and the exchange of expertise. The Deep Dive Days represent one of the most practical ways of translating these strategies into concrete action, offering insights, opportunities for discussion and inspiration that can be replicated within the respective healthcare contexts.

From the heart of the Emilia-Romagna region to excellence in healthcare

The first day began at the headquarters of the Emilia-Romagna regional government in Bologna. Among the institutional speakers were Adriano Gilli, Head of the Attractiveness, Internationalisation and Research Department, and Mirella Orlandi, Head of International Cooperation, both from the Emilia-Romagna Region, alongside Enrico Saltarelli from ART-ER. The morning also featured round-table discussions and brokerage sessions with Italian and Ukrainian experts, moderated by Enrica Lombardo, our project manager, and Sauro Vicini, our cluster manager.

Among these, the speeches by Professor Marco Innocenti, Director of the IV Orthoplastic Surgery Unit at the IRCCS Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute, who spoke about existing projects in collaboration with certain Ukrainian regions and the difficulties he is encountering in the current context of the war, and that of Dr Giada Lullini, Neurologist at the IRCCS Institute of Neurological Sciences of Bologna, Bellaria Hospital, who presented two projects she is currently overseeing.

In the afternoon, the delegation visited Villa Bellombra Hospital, a centre of excellence in post-acute rehabilitation. Doctors Barigazzi, Leo, Bertoletti and Villanova led the tour, explaining innovative organisational models and showing the state-of-the-art facilities, from the robotics gym and the therapeutic pool to the wards dedicated to patients with complex neurological, orthopaedic, cardiological and respiratory conditions.

On the second day, the delegation visited the Montecatone Institute – Rehabilitation Hospital, where key figures such as Ing. Tubertini, Special Commissioner, and Doctors Bianchi, Cava, Simoncini, Marani, Colombo, Sveva and Gnudi, as well as Professor Calzà, led a presentation on the facility’s clinical and organisational practices.

In the afternoon, the visit to the TechCare Expo in Rimini provided a hub of inspiration: the workshop “Digital Care Pathways: European and Ukrainian Success Stories from Rehabilitation to Health System Digitalisation”, moderated by Enrica Lombardo, featured speakers such as Olga Maistrenko (Rivne Regional Medical Hospital), Chiara Rambelli (Sol et Salus S.P.A.), Valeria Marichereda (Odessa Medical University), Natalya Gorochova (National Social Policy Initiatives, Ukraine) and Filippo Giliberti (Villabella Institute for Complex Care), and an interesting exchange on the different experiences within healthcare and hospital settings in Italy and Ukraine.

Building connections, shaping the future

The Deep Dive Days have demonstrated how international collaboration can be turned into tangible opportunities. From hospital visits to digital workshops, and from the sharing of best practices to networking opportunities, every activity has helped to strengthen the network of connections between Italy and Ukraine, promoting resilient, innovative and sustainable healthcare models.

Emilia-Romagna thus reaffirms its role as a European hub for healthcare and innovation, whilst Clust-ER Health Emilia-Romagna continues to build bridges and foster synergies between healthcare systems, with a view to a future in which patient care is increasingly effective, inclusive and technologically advanced.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.