The Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences SATW is opening the 3rd CAE-SATW Innovation Symposium tomorrow in Geneva, organised jointly with the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE). Under this year's theme of "Healthy Aging along the Care Continuum", the three-day event will bring together leading experts from the fields of medicine, engineering, research and innovation to discuss the current transformations in the healthcare system in the face of an ageing population.
At the centre of the discussions is an increasingly widespread conviction in advanced healthcare systems: The challenge is no longer simply to extend life expectancy, but rather to maintain people's physical, cognitive and social abilities in the long term - with the aim of ensuring their independence, activity and participation in society.
"With this symposium, we want to help promote a more continuous, integrated and people-centred view of health. The real challenge of ageing lies not only in living longer, but in maintaining autonomy, functional performance and quality of life in the long term," emphasises Benoît Dubuis, President of the SATW.
A particular focus of the symposium will be on the role of technological innovations, especially in the context of the "virtual hospital" concept. This approach aims to move the healthcare system away from a reactive, institution-centred model towards continuous, integrated, preventive and personalised care - closer to patients' everyday lives. The programme's topics include digital health, new care models for home care, wearable biosensors, nutrition, brain health, rehabilitation and the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare.
"China and Switzerland are facing the same societal challenge today and share the same ambition: to mobilise science, medicine and technology to develop new care models for ageing societies," adds Chen Jianfeng, Secretary General of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
The symposium will take place at several important locations in the Lake Geneva region, including the Campus Santé / Hôpital de la Tour in Meyrin. Plans include the official opening on 28 April, a visit to CERN and other programme items in Geneva and Lausanne in collaboration with various partner institutions.
Among the speakers announced are Benoît Dubuis, President of SATW, Chen Jianfeng, Secretary General of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Robert Mardini, CEO of HUG, Alexandre Pauchard, CEO of CSEM, Jean-Pierre Michel, an internationally recognised geriatrics expert, as well as numerous other experts from science and clinics from Switzerland and China.
For the SATW, this event is part of a broader vision: to promote the development of a healthcare system that not only treats disease, but also supports vitality, independence and quality of life throughout the lifespan. In the symposium's keynote documents, Benoît Dubuis emphasises that the hospital of the future will no longer be defined by its physical boundaries, but by its ability to reach patients where their lives take place.
Beyond the event, the CAE-SATW Innovation Symposium 2026 also aims to strengthen cooperation between Switzerland and China in the fields of healthcare, engineering and applied innovation - with the clear objective of translating dialogue into concrete joint initiatives.
The 3rd CAE-SATW Innovation Symposium will take place from 27 to 29 April 2026 in Geneva, with additional programme items in Lausanne. Under the guiding theme of "Healthy Aging along the Care Continuum", it is dedicated to new care models in the context of ageing - from the biological basis of ageing to the virtual hospital, digital health and personalised medicine.
