DEEP-HEALTH: Strengthening Research Excellence and Innovation in Digital Health Across Widening Europe

DEEP-HEALTH aims to strengthen research excellence and innovation capacity in AI-driven and data-enabled health technologies by establishing sustainable collaborations between higher education institutions in Widening and non-Widening European countries. The project focuses on enhancing scientific competitiveness, accelerating digital transformation, and modernizing institutional research and innovation practices through coordinated activities in research excellence, capacity building, infrastructure development, and interdisciplinary collaboration. A central objective of DEEP-HEALTH is the development of a joint Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) to identify common scientific priorities and foster long-term cooperation in AI-augmented HealthTech. The project will assess existing research and digital infrastructures, identify technological and institutional gaps, and promote the adoption of interoperable digital systems, FAIR data management practices, and responsible AI methodologies. Complementary activities will support institutional reform, researcher training, staff mobility, entrepreneurship, and engagement with healthcare organizations, industry, and policymakers. To translate these efforts into concrete scientific outcomes, DEEP-HEALTH will implement collaborative seed research and innovation activities focusing on precision oncology and mental health monitoring. These activities will investigate advanced multimodal AI methodologies integrating heterogeneous biomedical data, including medical imaging, molecular and clinical information, physiological signals, and data from wearable and connected medical devices. Particular emphasis will be placed on explainability, robustness, generalizability, and clinically meaningful validation, with the aim of supporting patient stratification, prognostic modelling, personalized disease monitoring, and the identification of clinically relevant digital biomarkers. Through the integration of institutional development, digital innovation, and clinically oriented collaborative research, DEEP-HEALTH is expected to strengthen the research capabilities and international visibility of participating institutions, establish sustainable HealthTech partnerships, and facilitate future joint research proposals, infrastructure investments, and innovation initiatives.