ZHdK’s visit to Brussels showcased how arts and design methods can unlock new potential in digital health and European research and innovation.
On 29 and 30 April 2026, SwissCore welcomed a delegation from Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), led by its President Karin Mairitsch. The visit provided ZHdK an opportunity to reinforce European partnerships and highlight one of its flagship initiatives, the Digital Health Design Living Lab (DHD-LL), during a dedicated public event.
ZHdK is one of Europe’s largest art schools, offering education and research in art education, cultural critique, design, film, fine arts, music, dance, theatre, and transdisciplinary studies. Through the cantonally funded DHD-LL, ZHdK collaborates with the University of Zurich (UZH) and Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) to foster healthcare innovation. As a living lab, DHD-LL thrives on co-creation and interdisciplinarity, employing methods inspired by arts and design principles.
On 29 April, ZHdK, SwissCore, and Helmholtz jointly co-organised the event “Co-creating FP10: How design science can help bridge the translational gap from research to health innovation.” The programme featured two cutting-edge presentations on AI in health from Fabiola Curion (European Commission’s Joint Research Centre) and Prof. Carsten Marr (Institute of AI for Health, Helmholtz Centre Munich). Their message was clear: While digital health research is advancing rapidly and promises vast benefits for patients across Europe, its implementation and clinical uptake remain far from automatic.
Cue Prof. Anna Lisa Martin-Niedecken, Head of ZHdK’s Institute for Design Research and DHD-LL: Art and design methods are crucial for unlocking the transformative potential of health research – by making implicit knowledge visible, rendering complexity understandable, involving people and context, and bridging disciplinary divides, all in a highly co-creative way. This was vividly illustrated through the DHD-LL’s methodologies, which include complementary research approaches such as bodystorming, Wizard of Oz, and fly-on-the-wall.
Participants also took part in an interactive co-creation session exploring how to better integrate social sciences and humanities in the ongoing FP10 discussions. Key themes emerging from the session included the need for flexibility, predictability, and interdisciplinarity. The closing panel welcomed Pawel Świeboda (Senior Fellow Neurotechnology, CFG) and Brigita Serafinavičiūtė (Research Attaché, Permanent Representation of Lithuania to the EU) next to Prof. Martin-Niedecken and Prof. Marr, who reflected on how arts and design could be more effectively embedded in EU research consortia and what policy levers can facilitate this integration.
On 30 April, with the support of the Mission of Switzerland to the EU, the delegation engaged with various European Commission services, sharing best practices on digital health and knowledge valorisation. The visit concluded with a lunch hosted by the Swiss Embassy in Belgium, bringing together some of ZHdK’s strongest European partners in education, research, and the arts, including the European University Association, Science Europe, KU Leuven, Orpheus Institute, Vlaamse Hogescholenraad, European League of Institutes of the Arts (ELIA), colleagues from Helmholtz and the Permanent Representation of Austria to the EU. The words of ZHdK President Karin Mairitsch perfectly summarised this two-day programme: “Switzerland is firmly embedded in the European Higher Education and Research Areas. And ZHdK sees itself as part of this shared responsibility: to contribute, to shape, and to further develop the conditions under which artistic and societal transformation becomes possible”.
SwissCore was pleased to host ZHdK in Brussels, fostering dialogue between decision-makers and ZHdK on innovative methods that can enrich European research and innovation.