Date:24 Feb - 25 Feb
Venue:Medicon Village, Lund, Sweden

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Poster session registration

HALRIC Final conference

Deadline for registration: 17 February 2026

The HALRIC Final Conference will mark the culmination of three years of cross-border collaboration to strengthen access to life science research infrastructures in the Öresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak-Hamburg region. This event will bring together project partners, researchers, infrastructure providers, policymakers, and regional stakeholders to reflect on the achievements of the HALRIC project and explore pathways for continued cooperation beyond March 2026.

The conference will highlight key outcomes, share lessons learned, and spark discussion around the future of collaborative infrastructure access and innovation support in the Nordic region. Through presentations, panel discussions, and interactive sessions, participants will gain insight into how HALRIC has helped build a more connected and competitive research ecosystem. And how that momentum can be sustained and expanded.

Whether you’re a practitioner or a policymaker, this event will offer both reflection and forward-looking perspectives on what it takes to build meaningful, cross-border partnerships in research and innovation.

Practical information

  • Venue: The conference will take place at Medicon Village (Inspira building, Scheelevägen 4, Lund). Information on how to get there available here.
  • Accommodation and transportation are at participants’ own expense. A travel budget may be available for participants from HALRIC partner organisations (more here).
    We recommend Elite Hotel Ideon (link), located about a 15-minute walk from the conference venue.
  • Poster session: We welcome posters presenting activities and facilities relevant to the HALRIC partnership and network. If you wish to participate in the poster session on 25 February, please fill in the form here.

Programme

24. FEBRUARY 2026 | Side events
14.00-17.00 Internal meetings 
Upon invitation only
15.00-16.30 Visit ESS
Limited places. Upon registration only.
18.00-21.30 Social dinner at Bryggan
For HALRIC partners and pilot projects. Upon registration only.Venue: Bryggan, Formstråket 13, Lund
 
25. FEBRUARY 2026 | Main conference at Medicon Village
How to get there: https://www.mediconvillage.se/contact-and-visit/

 
09.30 Registration and welcome coffee
 
10.00 Opening of the conference

Petter Hartman, CEO, Medicon Village Innovation
 
10.05 UNLOCKING ACCESS: HALRIC’s journey with Research Infrastructures

Discover how HALRIC has opened new doors to research infrastructures across borders. This session will showcase key achievements and share first-hand stories of collaboration and its impact.

Moderator: Petter Hartman, CEO, Medicon Village Innovation

Speakers:

  • Kajsa M. Paulsson, HALRIC Project Director, Lund University
  • Maria Sundh, HALRIC Head of Project Operations, Medicon Valley Alliance
10.45 Coffee break
11.15 CROSSING BORDERS, CREATING CONNECTIONS: pilot projects’ highlights from industry, hospital and academy

Get a first-hand look at how researchers and innovators from industry, hospitals, and academia have worked across borders to advance life science through HALRIC pilot projects.

Moderator: Veronica Lattanzi, HALRIC Co-director, Lund University

Speakers:
12.15 Lunch break: poster session and HSC demo

Enjoy lunch while meeting the people behind HALRIC, and learn more about the pilot projects and the Hanseatic Science Cloud.
14.00 LOOKING AHEAD: sustaining collaboration and curiosity-driven research 

Building on three years of first-hand experiences on cross-border research and cooperation, this closing session looks ahead together with regional leaders and funders at how cooperation can evolve into lasting frameworks that strengthen the ÖKS-Hamburg life science region beyond HALRIC.

Moderator: Kajsa M. Paulsson, HALRIC Project Director, Lund University

Part 1: Setting the scene

Speakers:

  • Erik Renström, Lund University Vice-Chancellor
  • Jakob Øster and Gôtz Thomalla, “What research infrastructures make possible for hospitals and patients”
  • Emanuel Larsson and Anders Bjorn Dahl (tbc), “How data management and analysis may evolve”

Part 2: The next phase of cross-border collaboration – Panel discussion

This panel discussion explores how lasting cooperation frameworks can be developed across the ÖKS–Hamburg region. It will highlight strategic opportunities arising from stronger regional connectivity and discuss how to secure sustained access to world-class life science research infrastructures.

Speakers:

  • Ulla Gro Nielsen, Novo Nordisk Foundation (video message)
  • Björn O. Nilsson, Chairman of the Council for Research Infrastructure, Swedish Research Council
  • Robert Feidenhans’l, Niels Bohr Institute Professor Emeritus and European XFEL Former Managing Director
  • Pia Kinhult, Head of Host States Relations and Industrial relations, ESS
  • Arwen Pearson, Professor of Experimental Biophysics, University of Hamburg

Part 3: Cooperation goes on within the HALRIC community

This session celebrates what HALRIC has made possible and looks ahead to what comes next. The session will also present the advocacy work carried out in recent months to ensure the continuation of HALRIC’s cooperation framework, including the introduction of the Cross-Border Science Office.

Speakers: HALRIC consortium representatives
15.20 Closing remarks

  • Kajsa M. Paulsson, HALRIC Project Director, Lund University
  • Viktor Öwall, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research Infrastructure, Digitalisation and Third-cycle Studies, Lund University
15.30 Networking coffee

Join this informal networking moment to connect with colleagues, exchange ideas, and reflect together on the future of HALRIC collaboration.

16.30 End of the conference