HealthTech Linkage
HealthTech Linkage
- learn how the health sector works from a commercial perspective, and how to make an impact and get innovations implemented in that sector
- meet and work with decision-makers, experts and changemakers from across healthtech and healthcare
- solve a real problem for a real healthtech or healthcare organisation, in a team of ambitious students from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds
A joint course by
About the Course
Overview & Eligibility
HealthTech Linkage is a hands-on look at how the healthtech and healthcare sector works: how care is delivered, how value is created, and how new technologies reach patients.
The course is worth 10 ECTS (pass/fail) and we take around 20 students, which keeps the group small enough that everyone gets to know each other and the teachers. It is aimed at Master's and PhD students from Aalto University and the University of Helsinki, with students from other universities welcome to apply, and the whole course runs in English.
The course is taught by teachers and guest speakers with years of practical and academic experience in innovation activities and the medical and healthtech field.
Outcomes
Understand the sector: Build a clear picture of the healthtech landscape. You'll learn how patients, providers, and payers interact; how value is created and measured; and how regulation and reimbursement shape product decisions.
Get innovation skills: Build general innovation skills and apply them to health-specific challenges. Be able to provide viable, feasible and valuable solutions for problems and be able to defend the recommended solutions.
Build professional contacts: Get to know companies and other organizations across the healthtech and healthcare sector, along with their expert representatives. The sector deep-dive combined with frequent expert interactions gives you the vocabulary and confidence to engage with professionals in the future.
What the course covers
A sample of topics we'll cover:
- What is the healthcare system like in Finland and who provides care?
- Taking into account different stakeholders (patients, providers, payers) when commercialising innovations
- Go-to-market strategies and navigating regulation for medical devices and digital therapeutics
- How diagnostics and monitoring open new opportunities for value and better health outcomes
- Bridging academia and industry: understanding how scientific and clinical research can translate into real-world healthcare innovations
- Building the tools and confidence to navigate between research, industry, and clinical practice
Learning experience
The course runs every Tuesday from 14:15 to 18:00, from mid-January to the end of April. Attendance is in person and mandatory, with only a couple of absences allowed. The classroom culture is safe, communal, and ambitious — we aim for interactive sessions, and while you can learn by listening, you're encouraged to participate in discussion. Between Tuesdays, you'll work in teams on innovation challenges and prepare for (and reflect on) the guest lectures. Thanks to the staff's networks, our guests are experienced practitioners and decision-makers from the sector, not just generic company speakers.
In previous years, students met people who shared insights from companies including: Apple, Oura, Orion, Terveystalo, Planmeca, Bayer, Hemby, Nordic Healthcare Group, Veri, Disior, HeiaHeia, and Blueprint Genetics.
Projects & Milestones
The course is organized around weekly lectures led mainly by industry experts, complemented by company and field visits. Throughout the course, you will also work in teams on three project-based assignments:
- A hackathon at the beginning of the course
- A two-week challenge that allows you to be creative
- A six-week challenge where you solve a problem and innovate for a company
The course culminates in a community event where you present your solution to the six-week challenge to a panel and an audience from industry experts and decision-makers.
The course will be a demanding but rewarding experience!Important dates
Practicalities Summary
- Credits: 10 ECTS (pass/fail) Cohort: ~20 students
- Eligibility: Master's & PhD students from Aalto University and the University of Helsinki; students from other universities are welcome to apply
- Schedule: Tuesdays 14:15-18:00, mid-Jan → end-Apr
- Format: Lectures by staff and guests, reflections, hands-on group-work
- Attendance: mandatory in-person (limited absences allowed)
- Workload: weekly sessions + team work between Tuesdays
- Application deadline: End of the day November 15th 2026
Apply early - places are limited.
Questions about the course?
Should you have questions about the course, drop us an email to healthtech-linkage [at] aalto.fi. We are happy to help you with any questions you might have!
Participants are selected
based on the following criteria:
Prior experience and accomplishments
Please submit your study transcripts and CV, more details below.
Motivation
Tell us why you want to take part in the course. Please submit a motivation letter, see below.
Diversity
We want to have a good mix of students from different backgrounds, all sharing an interest in the industry.
Your application should consist of the following:
1. Copies of your Bachelor's and Master's transcripts, and a copy of your CV
These we ask so we can undestand your academic background, and we are equally, if not more, interested in what you have done and achieved outside of your studies too. Therefore we ask you to make sure that relevant prior experiences are visible from your CV.
2. A short letter explaining your motivation to attend this course
Motivation is assessed based on answers to the following questions:
- What is the unique experience or insight you bring to the course?
- Describe any previous experiences that have inspired you to pursue this course. How did these experiences shape your interest in the field?
- What are your career goals, and how will this course help you achieve them?
Write a motivation letter of max. 250 words that answers the above questions. We are interested to get to know you as a person from your motivation letter (so using ChatGPT to write the letter or parts of it might not be a good idea).
healthtech-linkage [at] aalto.fi
Course Alumni
Backgrounds of the previous participants include:
- Computer science
- Translational Medicine
- Econimics
- Medicine
- Visual Cultures, Curating, and Contemporary Art
- Life Science Informatics
Life Science Technologies:
- Bioinformatics and Digital Health
- Biomedical Engineering
- Biosystems and Biomaterials
- Complex Systems
- Automation and Electrical Engineering
- Neuroscience and Physiology
- Industrial Engineering and Management
- Mechanical Engineering
Not on the list?
Apply and diversify the alumni network!
HealthTech Linkage was a great choice to acquire an entrepreneurial, more strategic view on the healthcare sector. It was also an amazing opportunity to interact directly with innovative companies and to build an international and multidisciplinary network with other students.
Ada Junquera Mencía, TRANSMED MSc - 2022 Alumni
Course Staff and Contacts
MSc (Tech), MBA
Jouni is a former startup executive currently working at the New Children's Hospital Foundation
M.Soc.Sc (Social psychology), Bachelor of Culture and Arts (Design, UAS)
Satu torto is a doctoral researcher at the Aalto University Department of Industrial Engineering and Management. Satu has worked in various roles related to the social welfare and healthcare sector
Amos holds a MSc from the University of Helsinki TRANSMED program, now pursuing a PhD in translational cancer research
Aalto University
Jens Schmidt is a strategy professor at Aalto University, currently working as the head of the department of IEM
Translational Medicine
Tiina Immonen works as a lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine at University of Helsinki
healthtech-linkage [at] aalto.fi
More Linkage Courses
An ever growing amount of courses are organized with the same engaging linkage concept. Check out the other courses too!
Cleantech Linkage
Learn how the clean transition gets built across energy, industry, mobility, water, materials and the built environment. Explore decarbonisation, electrification and the circular economy, taking into account the business models and innovations that make them work.
Defence Linkage
Explore how the military integrates new technologies to enhance operational efficiency and strategic advantage. Discover innovations in autonomous systems, AI, and cyber defense, reshaping the modern militaries across all domains. Learn about dual-use applications and their constraints. And much more!
Societal Impact Linkage
Take a hands-on look at how the Finnish public sector is run, renewed, and adopts innovation in partnership with the private sector. Learn how ministries, cities and wellbeing services counties work, how budgets and public procurement shape what gets built, and how digital and AI-driven tools are reshaping public services.
