Join us in Leuven for the Intego Research Ideathon. In this collaborative event, early-career researchers come together to explore new research ideas using electronic medical record (EMR) data from the Intego Primary Care Database.
Registration Form is at the end of the page!
Intego is a long-standing primary care registry in Flanders, Belgium, containing pseudonymized EMR data collected from general practices. It offers a rich source of information for studying disease patterns, healthcare utilization, and population health trends in real-world clinical settings. The ideathon encourages participants to creatively engage with the types of data available in Intego and propose meaningful research directions.
Unlike a datathon, this ideathon focuses on conceptual innovation. Participants will develop research proposals addressing real-world primary care challenges using EMR data.
Participants will work in multidisciplinary teams to develop research proposals that:
On November 20th, teams will pitch their proposals to a jury of experts. Each pitch will last a maximum of 10 minutes, followed by a 5-minute Q&A. The most promising ideas may be selected for mentorship and collaboration with the organizing team to support ethics approval, data access, and future implementation.
09:00 – 09:30: Registration
Participants arrive and check in.
09:30 – 10:00: Welcome & Introduction to Intego
Opening by Prof. Liesbet Peeters, introduction to the Intego registry by Prof. Dr. Bert Vaes, and an overview of the day’s program by the organizing team.
10:00 – 10:45: Keynote Lecture by Prof. Peter Rijnbeek
Bio: Prof. Peter Rijnbeek is Chair of the Department of Medical Informatics at Erasmus MC, The Netherlands. A health data scientist with over 25 years of experience, he leads the Health Data Science research line and plays a key role in the international OHDSI initiative. He coordinates the European Health Data and Evidence Network (EHDEN) and serves as Executive Director of DARWIN EU for the European Medicines Agency, advancing the use of real-world data across Europe.
Title: From EHDEN to DARWIN: A Success Story of Data Standardization and Sharing
Topic: Focus on research with health data, data spaces, data sharing, and data standardization.
10:45 – 11:00: Coffee Break
11:00 – 12:00: Speed Dating
An interactive networking session for participants to get to know each other.
12:00 – 13:00: Lunch Break
13:00 – 13:15: Group Formation & Mentor Introduction
Formation of teams and introduction of Intego mentors supporting each group.
13:15 – 13:45: Intego Presentation: Data Overview
Presentation of available data resources and guidance on research opportunities.
13:45 – 14:45: Ideation Workshop – Part 1
Teams start developing their research proposals, supported by mentors.
14:45 – 15:00: Coffee Break
15:00 – 15:30: Intego Presentation: Research Examples
Showcase of previous research projects to inspire participants.
15:30 – 16:30: Ideation Workshop – Part 2
Teams refine their ideas and prepare their proposal outlines.
16:30 – 16:45: Closing Remarks
Wrap-up of the day and outlook toward next steps.
09:00 – 09:30: Welcome
Participants arrive and check in.
09:30 – 10:30: Introduction to Day 2 & Final Preparations
Teams finalize their proposals and prepare for pitching sessions.
10:45 – 11:30: Keynote Lecture by Dr. Susan Hodgson
Bio: Dr. Susan Hodgson is Head of Observational Research at the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD). With over 20 years of experience in epidemiology and public health, she oversees data governance and access to CPRD’s primary care and linked datasets. Before joining CPRD, she held academic positions at Imperial College London and Newcastle University, focusing on the use of routinely collected health data for research.
Title: Lessons Learned from CPRD: Dealing with Challenges of Real-World Data
Topic: Insights into working with registry data in applied contexts, and how CPRD is leveraged for epidemiology and public health research.
11:30 – 12:15: Keynote Lecture by Prof. Johan Gustav Bellika
Bio: Prof. Johan Gustav Bellika is Professor of Medical Informatics at UiT The Arctic University of Norway and the Norwegian Centre for E-health Research. His research focuses on privacy-preserving reuse of health data and technologies supporting learning healthcare systems. He also serves as Chief Research Informatics Officer for the Norwegian primary care research network, PraksisNett.
Title: Opportunities and Challenges in EHDS: Curse or Blessing for Learning Health Systems?
Topic: Exploring technologies for privacy-preserving reuse of health data and the infrastructure supporting learning healthcare systems.
12:15 – 13:15: Lunch Break
13:15 – 14:15: Group Pitches – Session 1
Presentations by the first teams.
14:15 – 14:30: Coffee Break
14:30 – 15:30: Group Pitches – Session 2
Presentations by the remaining teams.
15:30 – 15:45: Jury Deliberation
Jury discussion and evaluation of the pitches.
15:45 – 16:00: Announcement of Winner
16:00 – 16:15: Closing Remarks
Arenberg Castle (Kardinaal Mercierlaan 94, 3001 Leuven)
We welcome teams of 3-5 students and early-career researchers from diverse backgrounds, including:
Interested in joining?
Registration deadline: November 5th.
🤝 This event is organized by the Intego team at the Academic Centre for General Practice, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven. It is made possible with funding from the Flemish government through the OJO-call (Omkadering Jonge Onderzoekers) for interuniversity initiatives.
For additional information, please contact Arne Janssens (arne.janssens@kuleuven.be).