RemoTED Project Participated in the Interreg NPA 25th Anniversary Conference in Bodø

The conference, organised to celebrate the programme’s anniversary, highlighted the achievements of the Interreg programme and the results of projects that have supported communities in Arctic and peripheral regions.

Throughout the event, the importance of developing cooperation between Arctic regions was strongly emphasised. Collaboration across these areas is essential for learning, growth, and strengthening regional vitality. The Interreg NPA programme plays a key role in enabling this cooperation. In today’s global context, phenomena such as international political tensions and climate change pose particular challenges for Arctic regions. This region of the Arctic currently faces significant external interest and pressure. To adapt to rapid changes, these regions must work together to address shared challenges such as population ageing, declining birth rates, high living costs and lack of affordable housing, unemployment, and access to services.

The conference also marked the launch of the 6th call for projects, where the terms for the final call of the current programme period were presented. The three main priorities of the Interreg NPA programme are:

Priority 1: Innovation capacity 

Priority 2: Climate change and resource sufficiency

Priority 3: Cooperation opportunities

These priorities will remain the same, but the third one, strengthening cooperation, is now being particularly emphasised. The NPA experts also encouraged proposals focusing on the promotion of health and wellbeing.

Parallel sessions

During parallel sessions, NPA projects presented their outputs and current progress. A wide range of technological solutions aimed at strengthening community resilience in the Arctic region were showcased. RemoTED, together with the Tech2Heal project, organised a panel discussion on the digital competences of social and healthcare professionals.

Panelists included Elina Kerätär (PT, MSc, RDI Specialist, Lapland UAS), Dr. Louise McBride (Head of Department of Nursing and Healthcare), Niclas Forsling (Project Manager, Region Västerbotten, Centre for Rural Medicine), and Ove K. Lintvedt (Senior Researcher, Norwegian Centre for E-health Research). The discussion was hosted by Dr. Karla Muñoz Esquivel (Lecturer in Computing).

RemoTED project partner meeting

Before the conference began, the RemoTED project team met to work on internal project matters. Face-to-face meetings strengthen collaboration within the team and support the achievement of shared goals and activities. During the meeting, the team planned the forthcoming Toolkit that will be developed as part of the project, shared updates from the partners, and discussed potential challenges. Elina Kerätär presented a practical robotics pilot in gait rehabilitation (https://lapinamk.fi/en/arctic-robowelfare/).  

The RemoTED project was recognised at the first Interreg NPA Awards Ceremony under the theme “Finding new ways to recruit and retain professionals, improving digital healthcare, and strengthening innovation capacity.” This recognition highlights the project’s contribution to enhancing digitalisation, skills, and innovation capacity in northern and sparsely populated areas.

The conference further strengthened cooperation between northern region actors and provided an excellent opportunity for exchanging ideas with other NPA projects while enjoying the stunning scenery of Bodø.