The COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated that it is not possible to have a successful economy without good healthcare. This is a wake-up call we all need to heed – it cannot be business as usual when the pandemic is over. In order to protect our people and economies against future public health threats it is crucial to improve the long-term sustainability of our health systems.

At Junior Achievement we know that fostering innovation must start at an early age, and education therefore plays a key role in ensuring that young generations of Europeans are equipped with the right skills to tackle future challenges. Entrepreneurship education at school is the best way to encourage innovative thinking and problem-solving from an early age.

Based on the success of the Bulgarian pre-accelerator BEYOND, Junior Achievement is embarking on a new collaborative project with Novartis in Europe to be piloted in Central and Eastern Europe, aimed at leveraging technology and “start-up” thinking in the medical field. By establishing a series of pre-accelerator hubs in digital health and innovation, the program will generate a stronger ecosystem of innovators who will work to reimagine medicine as we know it. 

Junior Achievement and Novartis are co-organising an event to gather all relevant stakeholders in the field of education, healthcare and innovation on the 11th of December 2020 from 10:00 to 11:00 am CET. The event aims to raise interest and awareness on the essential role played by an entrepreneurial and innovative mind-set in the healthcare sector.