The Institute of Computer Science of FORTH announces the launch of the PRECISEU project, in which it collaborates with the Region of Crete in the framework of the European initiative for Regional Innovation Valleys. The 151 selected Regions received the Seal of Excellence from the European Commission in order to:

• Strengthen the regional Research and Innovation ecosystem
• Steer their research and innovation policy and investments towards the EU's key objectives
• Participate in collaborative actions between selected European regions

The PRECISEU project, in which the Center for eHealth Applications and Services of FORTH-ICS (CeHA) and the Region of Crete participate together with 23 other leading institutions from 11 European countries with a total budget of 22.7 million euros, is co-funded by the European Union, and it aims to promote precision medicine and achieve a truly personalized healthcare, through the interconnection of innovative ecosystems across Europe. With the cooperation of regional authorities and institutions from 12 European Regions, the target is to transfer good practices and solutions and to scale up high-tech innovations in the health sector. The project will fund bodies and businesses of the Region of Crete for participation in collaborative research projects on the selected topics.

CeHA will play a central role, contributing to:

• mapping and analysis of personalised medicine strategies and good practices of the partner regions,
• evaluating the readiness of national, regional and local health information systems;
• assessing the maturity of innovative practices for their adoption in the healthcare system;
• providing guidelines for cross-border cooperation and exchange of health data, and
• strengthening the involvement of all relevant actors, with a focus on patients, and linking efforts in the EU to transform healthcare.

The PRECISEU project is expected to deliver significant improvements in citizens' lives and strengthen Europe's competitiveness in healthcare.

The public opening event took place in Barcelona on 10^th July, with an open event held at the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya, which is the seat of the Presidency and Government of Catalonia in Spain, and in which a number of institutional bodies participated. The event was honored with the presence of Mr. Pere Aragones i Garcia - President of the Government of Catalonia, and Mr. Manel Balcells i Diaz - Minister of Health of the Government of Catalonia. CeHA was represented by the Head of the Center Mr. Dimitrios

Katehakis as well as the Business Development and Innovation Managers, Dr. Maria Makridaki and Dr. Apostolos Dimitriadis, while the Region of Crete was attended by Mrs. Katerina Roussaki and Mr. Stavros Kaoukakis.

For more information, please contact:

• Center for eHealth Applications and Services: https://www.ics.forth.gr/ceha/, ehealth@ics.forth.gr
• Region of Crete: https://ibo.crete.gov.gr , ibo@creteregion.gr