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Colleagues participate in the opening icebreaker activity during Demo Day 2026.

IGHI's real power has never come from any single discipline. It comes from the conversation between them. Professor the Lord Ara Darzi Director, Institute of Global Health Innovation

Colleagues from across the Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI) came together on 21 May for Demo Day 2026, a full-day event designed to strengthen connections across the Institute and showcase the breadth of work taking place across IGHI's centres and teams.

Held at the Queen's Tower Rooms on 911½ñÈÕºÚÁÏ's South Kensington campus, the event brought together colleagues from across IGHI under the theme: Connect. Discover. Collaborate.

The day began with an interactive icebreaker activity, followed by a welcome address from Lord Ara Darzi, Director of IGHI. In his remarks, Lord Darzi reflected on the value of bringing together expertise from across disciplines, noting that:

"IGHI's real power has never come from any single discipline. It comes from the conversation between them.

Connecting colleagues across IGHI

Colleagues then took part in a series of PechaKucha-style flash talks, where representatives from IGHI's centres and teams, including the Centre of African Research and Engagement, the Centre for Health Policy, the , the Hamlyn Centre, the , the NIHR North West London Patient Safety Research Collaboration and the Education team, delivered fast-paced, visually led presentations highlighting their work, achievements and current priorities.

The talks gave a deeper understanding of the expertise, research and innovation taking place across IGHI, while introducing colleagues to the people behind the work.

For many attendees, one of the most valuable aspects of the day was the opportunity to connect with colleagues from across the Institute.

"It was great to finally meet so many colleagues whose names I knew but had never met in person."

- Demo Day attendee

Discovering the work behind the innovation

The spirit of discovery continued in the Demo Zone, where centres showcased projects, research and innovations through a range of exhibits, interactive displays and demonstrations.

During the session, colleagues engaged directly with teams, asked questions, exchanged ideas and learnt more about the work taking place across the Institute.

The interactive format encouraged colleagues to explore projects in greater depth and engage directly with teams from across IGHI.

"I loved the Demos and Discoveries part where we got to talk to everyone and learn more about their work."

• Demo Day attendee

Creating opportunities for collaboration

In the afternoon, colleagues took part in facilitated breakout discussions focused on key themes in health and healthcare innovation. The sessions encouraged colleagues to share ideas and identify potential areas for collaboration across centres and teams.

The day concluded with a social session, where colleagues continued conversations and connected in a more informal setting.

By bringing colleagues together to connect, discover and collaborate, Demo Day 2026 highlighted the breadth of expertise that exists across IGHI and reinforced the value of creating opportunities for colleagues to learn from one another, share knowledge and build new connections.