HANNN Gateway to Healthy Ageing Research
The three northern provinces of the Netherlands, Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe have much in common with Northern Germany and the Baltic Sea region. In the 14th to 16th century many of its cities belonged to the Hanse league, doing business with cities like Bremen, Hamburg, Rostock, Riga and Stockholm. The region has a low population density, a SME driven economy and an ageing society. Due to increased mobility it is expected that the demographic change will lead to further urbanization of the region. Many of the young people will find a job in the “Randstad”, the central and western region of the country with the big cities Amsterdam, Utrecht and Rotterdam, resulting that even fewer young people will have to take care for the Grey Society.
In order to be well prepared for the future, the Northern Netherlands have focused their economic long term planning on five clusters: Energy, Sensor technology, Water technology, Healthy Ageing and Agribusiness. Stimulation of these clusters must result in innovations that contribute to the wellbeing of the inhabitants of this region: new technologies, new jobs and economic growth.
Healthy Ageing has been adopted by the Groningen University and the University Medical Center Groningen, as well as by the 4 universities of Applied Sciences. With the initiation of the European Institute of the Biology of Ageing (ERIBA), the Life Lines Biobank, the Healthy Ageing Campus and the Healthy Ageing Research Hotel, healthy ageing research and educational programs for medical and technical students have gained top priority.
The Healthy Ageing Network Northern Netherlands (HANNN) was started in 2010 . HANNN is a professional network organization with its home office located in Groningen. The organization has a full time staff of 4 people and employs 5 part time experts that represent Life Sciences (Medical Biology and pharmacy), Life Style, Care & Cure, Food & Nutrition and Medical Technology. Like Norgenta in Hamburg and Biocon Valley in Rostock and Greifswald, HANNN is involved in organizing events that bring clinicians, researchers, engineers, politicians and representatives of industry together, to promote Healthy Ageing within the region and towards the national government and the European Commission, to trace cross-overs and to stimulate international collaboration. The Northern Netherlands is a candidate reference site for the European Innovation Partnership on Active & Healthy Ageing. Not only because of the multidisciplinary, integral approach, but also because Healthy Ageing is seen as a lifelong course: from conception till end-of-life.
IN 2011 HANNN has become ScanBalt Liaison Office, a gateway to Healthy Ageing research. We like to share results and experiences of Healthy Ageing research and business with the members of ScanBalt.
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