From equipment that enables bed-bound patients to call in medical workers with the movement of their eyeballs, to a pen that overcomes tremors constantly bothering people with Parkinson's disease, an international conference at Shanghai University showed new pathways to integrate education, research and application.

The 2025 International Conference on the Cooperation and Integration of Industry, Education Research and Application (Shanghai) took place on September 23, which also marked the third Sino-Swiss Institute of Advanced Technology (SSIAT) Innovation Day at Shanghai University.

Founded in 2021, SSIAT is a joint project of Shanghai University and the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW) committed to fostering collaboration between academia and industry. The eye-tracking nurse call system and the tremor-proof pen are both ongoing projects conducted by iTeams, a joint team of Shanghai University and the University of Geneva in Switzerland initiated by Beno?t Dubuis, director of SSIAT , who is also president of SATW.

The iTeams program, composed of members from diverse academic backgrounds, focuses on smart healthcare, bio-sensing, and advanced medical devices, embodying interdisciplinary and transnational collaboration.

Dubuis hoped that after the conference more universities and more partners can join in the program and take ideas that are generated within the university to make innovations and achieve new solutions.