Future Health,

Future Health explores the question: How do we intend to stay healthy in the future – as individuals, within organisations and as a society? This future-oriented field brings together the FHNW’s expertise across the entire health spectrum – from prevention and care through to aftercare and rehabilitation. The focus is on physical and mental health, linked to issues of the social organisation of health, equality of opportunity, accessibility and participation.

Drivers such as personalisation, demographic change, digitalisation, rising mental health pressures, technological progress and cost pressures are fundamentally transforming the healthcare landscape. Future Health responds to these dynamics through targeted research and development activities designed to make healthcare systems more resilient, equitable and efficient. In doing so, this future-oriented field sees itself as a social asset that brings together individual well-being, social stability and ecological and economic conditions.

In terms of content, Future Health addresses a wide range of topics: prevention and health promotion, health-related behaviour, mental health, resilience and new care models are just as much in focus as biomedical technologies, medical technology and diagnostic solutions. There is a particular emphasis on digital health technologies – ranging from telemedicine, health apps and wearables to eHealth platforms, medical informatics, data analytics and AI-based applications in healthcare. The FHNW develops and applies such technologies in projects that are practice-oriented and evidence-based.

Future Health sees itself as a catalyst for interprofessional and transdisciplinary collaboration between universities, industry partners, policymakers and society. The strategic action field brings together students, researchers, businesses, public authorities and civil society actors to test new ideas and jointly develop viable solutions. The aim is to strengthen health literacy, promote innovative healthcare solutions on a broad scale and sustainably improve quality of life across all stages of life.

As part of the Strategy FHNW 2035, Future Health provides a clear framework within which projects, degree programmes and partnerships of high societal relevance are brought together. It enables trends to be identified at an early stage, translated into research and teaching, and structured collaborations to be established across disciplines and sectors. In this way, the FHNW positions itself as an attractive partner for a healthcare system that is technologically innovative whilst remaining human, inclusive and values-driven.