EBIB Anniversary: Interactions with industry are key for supporting discoveries

Euro-BioImaging Directors Prof. John Eriksson, Dr. Antje Keppler and Dr. Linda Chaabane reflect on 10 years of Industry Board

In this final interview of our series on the 10th Anniversary of the Euro-BioImaging Industry Board (EBIB), our Directors highlight how crucial and impactful the interaction with industry has been for the successful implementation and operations of Euro-BioImaging. Particularly when it comes to outreach, education and training of scientists on the service offer and capabilities of the most modern imaging technologies, Industry can play a key role. You can watch here a teaser of the interview below.

What have been some of the key benefits and impacts that the Euro-BioImaging Industry Board has helped facilitate in terms of advancing the research infrastructure and supporting the broader imaging community?

Antje Keppler (Director Bio-Hub): Representatives from leading imaging manufacturers have followed Euro-BioImaging from the very first stakeholder meeting in Heidelberg in 2009 onwards. Their positive perception from the beginning echoed that they saw a lot of potential value in this European coordination effort for themselves and the imaging landscape. They expressed their support not only in the form of participation in our annual stakeholder meetings, but also towards the national funders and the Euro-BioImaging Interim Board. The establishment of the EBIB already in 2014 built trust and momentum for the Euro-BioImaging business plan when entering the critical phase of negotiation with prospective member states.

From your perspective, what are some of the most innovative or impactful ways that Euro-BioImaging has leveraged industry partnerships?

John Eriksson (Director General): Euro-BioImaging has been able to leverage industry partnerships in several impactful ways.

The creation of the Euro-BioImaging Industry Board itself is already a notable example, the way it facilitates communication and collaboration between the imaging companies, academic users, and the people at our imaging facilities. It is quite an innovative way of engagement, not a client relationship, but rather a platform where the different parties can meet at eye-level and drive the conversation in areas of mutual interest.

The fact that some of the EBIB members have been engaged for such a long time, and are now regularly interacting not just with the Hub but with the larger imaging community at our events, has help build a high level of trust - which now enables joint activities on within the network on quite different levels, from joint grant applications to being able to bring advanced training to our Node community.

The imaging companies have also been excellent advocates for Euro-BioImaging in their own networks, introducing us to partners and clients, and supporting us in our interaction with funders and Member States.

What is the unique expertise of industry partners that can help advance Euro-BioImaging?

Linda Chaabane (Director Med-Hub): The interactions with industry partners are key for supporting discoveries. Beyond their clear knowledge on technology development they provide a concrete view of the overall global needs for innovation including the career development of young scientists. They are key partners for the validation and the exploitation of the innovative solutions developed by the scientific community. I therefore believe that industry partners are really essential for us and the scientific community for fostering innovation and accelerating discoveries.

Has the focus of industry collaboration at Euro-BioImaging changed over time and how does this impact your interaction with the Industry Board?

Antje Keppler: I would say that over the past decade not the focus has changed, but rather that the interaction has been continuously growing along with the maturity of the research infrastructure. During Interim Operation we did not have the resources yet in place to develop common activities such as online workshops or training offers in collaboration with industry. Most of our interactions focused on common meetings at existing external events such as ELMI. This was important to update each other and helped us to prepare for setting up the Euro-BioImaging Industry Board Advisory Panel. This is now a central body of our governance. 

How does Euro-BioImaging work with industry to adapt to the changing needs of the research community and the imaging technology landscape?

Linda Chaabane: Euro-BioImaging has developed different activities and platforms of exchange with their node community and the members of EBIB creating opportunities to share the latest research, technological advancements, and applications. Such activities provide insights into emerging needs and challenges and have led in some cases to concrete collaborations or to the development of new projects funded by the European commission.

Looking ahead, what are some of the biggest opportunities and challenges you foresee in the partnership with the Industry Board?

John Eriksson: Euro-BioImaging has more than 120 technologies representing absolute cutting edge. The Imaging Industry, just like us, is very aware of the challenge of technology awareness. Users not only need to understand Euro-BioImaging as an organisation, but they also have to have technology awareness. What are these technologies good for? What are possible applications? How can they be used for my research? Outreach and technology awareness are joint concerns and aspirations in terms of future development. 

We also have a very fruitful interaction with the Industry Board to offer internships, so that students that already engage with Node and user communities come in and have internships at different partners of the Industry Board. This has been perceived as very useful on both sides and is something we really want to develop further as an opportunity for young imaging scientists.

Finally when it comes to making industry, for example in the Life Sciences, aware of how Euro-BioImaging Services could be used for the purpose of industry tech development, industry applications and industry projects, the expertise of the industry Board will be very valuable to develop our offer towards industry.

What is on your personal wish list for future interaction?

Linda Chaabane: My wish is to increase the integration of imaging developers to cover all the current technologies for the Life Sciences including also innovators that could further empower the potential of imaging such as AI developers.

What is your favourite anecdote or spirit-lifting moment from your long-term collaboration with the Industry Board?

Antje Keppler: 10 years of Industry Board and 15 years of interaction under the Euro-BioImaging umbrella provide a lot of little stories one could tell. Overall I am very grateful to the industry representatives, many of whom supported us over so many years, sometimes staying an extra day at conferences, just to learn about our latest developments. This made a huge difference. And it was always fun sharing the dance floor with EBIB members at the famous ELMI parties! 

Is there any personal message that you want to share with the Industry Board members on the occasion of its 10th anniversary?

John Eriksson: We are very lucky to have Industry Partners that are very engaged, in particular our EBIB Chairs and the members of the EBIB Advisory Panel. Their input into Euro-BioImaging’s Strategic Plan for the next 5 years and their constructive feedback on what type of collaborations will be a mutual enrichment of the interaction has been immensely valuable.

We very much like to invite the EBIB members to come forward with more of their own suggestions, both on the level of the Industry Board and Euro-BioImaging community, but also for bilateral collaborations.