This microfluidics conference was organised by the NGM consortium and held in close cooperation with Human.technology Styria GmbH and the Steirischen Wirtschaftsförderung SFG. It was embedded as a satellite event in the programme of the Health Tech Hub Styria 2025 and offered a top-class forum for exchange within the European microfluidics and health technology community.
Overview of the programme
The programme started with a well-founded HTH keynote speech by Iene Rutten (Department of Biosystems, KU Leuven), in which she highlighted the wide range of applications and the great potential of microfluidic systems. She addressed key aspects of microfluidics and provided a successful transition to the rest of the varied and informative afternoon programme.
This included practical microfluidics demonstrations, followed by a thematic session entitled ‘The Next Generation of Microfluidics: Linking Expertise Across Europe’. Innovative technologies from the NGM consortium were presented - including Molecular Diagnostics for Sars-CoV-2, Smartphone-Enabled Home Diagnostics, Cell Culture Devices for Pharmaceutical Testing, Bio-Process Monitoring Sensors.
The programme was complemented by insights into the activities of the Microfluidics Innovation Hub (MIH) and presentations from other start-ups and scale-ups. The participation of guest speakers from two of the 18 funded Open Call projects was particularly pleasing: Marian Weiss from rderten Open-Call-Projekte: Marian Weiss von VERAXA Biotech GmbH and Till Böhme and Tobias Jacob from Lumeox. Further contributions from companies such as the Advanced Microfluidics Initiative (AMI), Cellectric, elyte diagnostics, Molecular Devices, Pyroscience and Sarcura rounded off the range of topics.
The concluding networking format 'MicroFluids and MicroBites' provided an opportunity for professional dialogue over refreshments and presentations of pioneering microfluidic technologies from Austria and across Europe.
The event was organised and chaired by Caitlin Ahern (BNN – BioNanoNet), whose confident leadership ensured that everything ran smoothly.
A successful finale for NextGenMicrofluidics
Overall, the event provided an excellent platform for around 100 participants to network with leading innovators, discuss the latest technological advances and forge valuable partnerships within the European microfluidics and healthcare technology industry.
