The ZMI at the NUM CONVENTION 2025

On February 25 and 26 2025, the NUM CONVENTION 2025 took place at the Berlin Congress Center (bcc) under the motto “Cooperation in NUM: breaking new ground in an interdisciplinary and multicentric way”. 

For the second time, the Network of University Medicine (NUM) invited the NUM community as well as actors, stakeholders and partners from the field of medical research to a professional exchange, joint debate and networking. The initial focus was on the future direction of the NUM, which was outlined in the BMBF's welcome address and a panel discussion with experts on the topic of “The role of the NUM in the clinical research system in 10 years: Where does it need to go?” were discussed in a multi-faceted manner. 

Nationwide steering capability, international recognition, sustainable infrastructures, interdisciplinarity, a broad spectrum of different specialist skills, scientific excellence, close networking and collaboration, resource sharing and the targeted promotion of the younger generation of early career researchers were identified as characteristics of the NUM. 

Close cooperation with the KKS, the biobanks and the DZG in terms of interoperability and networking, as well as collaboration with industry and international partners, were named as decisive factors for the direction of the network in the coming years.

In addition, the aim is to make the NUM a “one-stop store” for medical research, but also to promote clinical research in Germany and Germany as a science and university location back to the top internationally with the help of the NUM.  

The ZMI-team was represented at the conference by Dr. Eveline Prochaska in her role as Head of Interoperability Research, Michéle Zoch, research associate in the field of rare diseases and project participant in FAIR4RARE, Jens Weidner, the MiHUBx-project manager, and Dr. Claudia Heine, head of the NUM staff unit in Dresden:

Michéle Zoch, together with her colleague Prof. Jannick Schaaf, supervised the table on digitalization in the World Café on patient participation, where those affected had their say and exchanged views on patient involvement with the researchers and communication officers present. A common goal emerged: the targeted use of digital tools to strengthen patient participation both in the use of data and throughout the NUM research project.

Jens Weidner MPH presented the future MIHUB-project together with Dr. Karen Voigt (Department of General Practice). MiHUB is funded by the BMBF and is expected to start in January 2026. It brings together intersectoral care data from outpatient GP and specialist care as well as from university hospital care. Both Dresden scientists took part in the concluding panel discussion and emphasized the need for intersectoral research in order to improve patient care. The aim of the workshop was to make the special features of the outpatient sector visible, to develop approaches for their consideration and to develop a vision for the integration of outpatient research infrastructures of the Initiative of German Research Practice Networks into the NUM.

The nationwide Local Staff Units (LokS) were also represented at this year's convention with their own session: The LokS presented the “efficient design of decentralized processes in large research networks”, which was then widely discussed on the podium among all site representatives and together with partners and stakeholders.

© Michéle Zoch

© Hanna Schrader

© NUM CONVENTION