Tuesday 14 March 2017

Hundreds gather at Professor Luc de Witte’s Inaugural Lecture to discover “Technology: who cares?!”

More than 200 guests joined Professor Luc de Witte last Friday in the iconic Diamond Building for his Inaugural Lecture: “Technology; who cares?!”



The event celebrated the arrival of Prof. de Witte as one of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health’s “big-hitters” where he shared how technology can, and will, play a major role in future health and care around the world.


Prof. Dame Pamela Shaw, Vice President and Pro-Vice Chancellor Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health at the University of Sheffield introduced the lecture. Prof. Dame Shaw seamlessly linked Luc’s lecture to the Care 2050 development and the approaches that CATCH, ScHARR and the wider University may take.


Having joined CATCH in October 2016, Luc is already working to put Sheffield at the heart of innovation and reiterated his belief that Sheffield has all the assets to become a key player here in healthcare during this lecture.


Luc received a great response from the audience when he addressed what assistive technology (AT) really is. “How many of you are wearing glasses?” he quipped to realisation around the room that AT doesn’t have to be high tech. In a fascinating statistic shared from the World Health Organisation however, only 10-15% of those in need have access to AT.


Part of the Sheffield Festival of Science and Engineering, Professor de Witte’s lecture attracted members of the public, partners and colleagues from across Europe as well as University of Sheffield staff and collaborators.


It’s safe to say that Prof. de Witte’s Inaugural Lecture was very well received and the buzz that it had generated was clear at the reception that followed.


We’d like to take this opportunity to say a special thanks to the Public Engagement team at the University, notably Nicola Strafford, Public Engagement Manager as well as Kathryn Rooney, Personal Assistant to the Dean of ScHARR for their tireless efforts that contributed heavily to the success of this event.

If you would like to find out more about Professor Luc de Witte’s research or are interested in collaborating with CATCH, please contact Laura Murray.

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