HealthX — Empowering the Future of Health
Discover the tools you need to bring your ideas to life. HealthX, formerly known as Terkko Health X, offers pioneers a place to take their first steps in changing the world. With a focus on health from every angle, this programme is your opportunity to create lasting impact on our collective health.

The call for the 2023 batch is now closed, and the programme will run from 18 April to 9 June.
About HealthX

Do you have an idea that would create a tool or procedure that would help nurses or doctors in their everyday work? Are you the one to offer a solution to the increasing amount of mental health conditions and burnouts arising from our frantic way of living? Or are you aware of some other current problem in your field that you are eager to solve? If you said yes to any of these questions or have some even greater idea taking shape in your head, HealthX is looking for you!

HealthX is a two-month long series of speaker events and workshops covering the tools and knowledge required to bring your health ideas into fruition. Health is a broad theme, and we believe that our strength also lies there. We welcome participants from a very wide range of backgrounds: healthcare, mental health, wellness, health tech, animal health, pharma and beyond.

Don’t worry if your project does not fit the fields mentioned above. Get in touch with our team, and we will see if this pre-incubator is a good fit for you – and if not, we’ll help you find just the right next steps to continue on your entrepreneurial path. One of our fellow Helsinki Incubator programmes might be just what you’re looking for.

Programme Outcomes

After completing HealthX, you’ll have figured out your next steps and can continue your journey with confidence. To achieve this, you’ll…

  • Have a more defined understanding of the problem that you’re trying to solve and a deeper understanding of the solution you’re offering. You’ll have also filled a business model canvas, and know how to utilise this tool in the future.
  • Have made a plan to conduct market research.
  • Know what to do next, whether it is conducting market research or planning to start testing your MVP, pivoting your idea, or anything in between. For advanced and enthusiastic teams looking to further develop your solution, we recommend taking a look at SPARK Finland and Health Incubator Helsinki as your potential next steps after HealthX.
  • Have mastered the basics of pitching – concisely and interestingly presenting both yourself and your idea, while making others excited to hear more. You’ll have also learned to modify your pitch to match different situations to fit your target audience.
  • Have made new connections with like-minded people and have a deeper understanding of the health innovation ecosystem. You’ll also be more confident in growing your network on your own.

While the call for the 2023 programme is now closed, you can still send us an open application at the link below and we'll be in touch in due time!

Programme Schedule

HealthX will be held in-person primarily twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 17–20 from 18 April to 9 June at the Terkko Health Hub located at the University of Helsinki's Meilahti campus. The language of the programme is English.

Over the course of two months, you will benefit from an intensive series of speaker events and expert-led workshops which will provide you with the fundamentals of entrepreneurship from the standpoint of the health industry.

On 9 June, we’ll celebrate the ending of the journey together with our fellow pre-incubator programme Circulator 2.0 by inviting our teams and wider local ecosystems together for a community showcase. To make it interesting for both health and circular economy enthusiasts, we are combining human and animal health as well as planetary health under the theme of One Health. At the event, you'll have the opportunity to present your achievements to the whole community of change-makers, and receive some valuable feedback while learning about the inspiring projects developed at Circulator 2.0.

Applying

You can join by yourself or with a team – the most important for us is that you have an idea to work on and the motivation to take it further with us, even to the point of establishing a startup. 

The workshops require in-person attendance from at least one team member. If you are not able to commit to the full schedule, you may be removed from the programme. That being said, sometimes life happens, and in those situations, we'll try our best to figure out a solution that can help you keep up.

Teams do not need to be affiliated with the University of Helsinki in any way to apply, meaning that regardless of whether you're a University of Helsinki student, researcher, staffer, alumni or just an enthusiastic innovator looking for a place to develop your idea and solution, HealthX welcomes you!

The application will consist of a short description of your idea and your team.

The call for the 2023 batch is now closed. If you're interested, you can leave us an open application at the link below, and we'll be in touch in due time!

Obtaining ECTS for participation in the HealthX programme

A student can request a certificate of attendance upon completion of the pre-incubator programme. The certificate is issued by entrepreneurship & innovation services at the University of Helsinki. The certificate outlines the completed content of the programme, which corresponds to 5 ECTS.

The student can present the certificate of attendance to their degree programme for credit registration. Entrepreneurship & innovation services do not issue credits. The degree programme will decide which to course or within what study module the credit for participation in the pre-incubator can be included.

Students are advised to check with their degree programme first, if this arrangement is possible. Entrepreneurship & innovation services do not guarantee that credits can be earned by taking part in the programme.

Next steps of the journey — SPARK Finland & Health Incubator Helsinki

After the programme, you will have received tools, skills and connections to progress in your professional journey, as well as information about the many avenues you can choose to take your solution to the next level. These avenues include the Helsinki Incubators pipeline with SPARK Finland and Health Incubator Helsinki being the next two steps.

The programme is produced in partnership with Terkko Health Hub  and Helsinki Think Company. Additionally, the programme is enabled by HUS and HiLIFE by supporting Terkko Health Hub.

FAQ
  • Who can apply?
    • Anyone! You don’t have to be a part of the University of Helsinki to apply to HealthX.
  • Does participating cost something?
    • No, it’s completely free of charge!
  • What if I don’t have an idea yet?
    • HealthX is designed for participants who already have a health-related idea to start working on. If you’re still looking for inspiration, consider joining an innovation challenge first! We also have some open events that you can join to see first what the programme is about, such as "Get to know HealthX – Empowering the future of Health" event on 22 March at 15.30–17.00 and Business Stories workshop on 25 April, at 17–20. Both events are held at Terkko Health Hub. You don’t need to register to attend!
  • What if I already have a startup?
Contact Us

Liina Laukkanen, Project Lead for HealthX

liina.laukkanen@helsinki.fi

+358 44 493 4708