The IT4Anxiety Interreg NW funded project kick-off meeting took place in Amsterdam on March 9-10th 2020. The event was hosted by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam partner in an inspiring location on the Amsterdam old dock.
The first day started with discussions concerning the Project Management challenges, focussing on how the international team will work together during the next 4 years to deliver the main project outcomes based on their complementary skills and knowledge. The partners leading the Communication actions then presented the highlights of the communication strategy with a special focus on social networks.
This was followed by an interactive session in which the project partners participated in a co-creation workshop aimed at answering the four following questions:
- What will define “success” for our team ?
- What are the challenges that we will or might face ?
- What should be included in our team internal regulation rules ?
- How can we actively include patients / users / facilities from the outset in our project ?
At the end of this productive day, the team enjoyed a dinner in an Indonesian restaurant located in the Java district (formerly known as Eastern docks), well known for its futuristic architecture.
The second day provided the partners with the opportunity to focus on the core activities of the project addressing notably the following activities:
- Identification of the needs (WP1)
- Technical piloting and validation of innovative tools (WP2)
- Implementation of innovative tools and change of culture in the mental health sector (WP3)
Each activity leader presented how they intend to implement the different activities which were then discussed between partners. It was also the opportunity for three start-ups already part of the project, KnowsnCo in France, Brainscan and Sentimentics in the Netherlands, to introduce themselves and discuss how they could start collaborating with the different partners.
One of the next important milestones of the project will focus on the organisation of a mental health hackathon, bringing together professionals, patient and caregiver associations, start-ups and students. This will take place on the 15th of October in Saint-Brieuc (France) and registration details will be placed on the project website.
