XiA at MIE 2026 in Genoa: advancing interoperability skills for the EHDS
The XiA – Xpanding Innovative Alliance project was present at MIE 2026 in Genoa, one of Europe’s key conferences for medical informatics, digital health and health data innovation.
This participation marked an important moment for the project, with XiA contributing both through a scientific paper and a dedicated panel session focused on the skills and capacity-building challenges behind the implementation of the European Health Data Space (EHDS).
Beyond formal presentations, MIE 2026 also provided a valuable opportunity for XiA partners to engage with other European projects, SMEs and experts working on digital health implementation, interoperability and education.
From needs analysis to a reference model for interoperability skills
One of XiA’s main contributions to MIE 2026 was the paper:
“Interoperability Skills for Digital Health: A Reference Model from the XiA Project”
This work, led by Francini Hak and developed with the contribution of several XiA WP3 partners, presents a structured reference model for identifying and organising the skills needed to support interoperability in digital health.
The paper addresses a core issue for the EHDS: interoperability depends not only on standards and technical infrastructure, but also on the availability of professionals who understand how to implement, manage and use interoperable systems in practice.
The proposed model builds on a systematic literature review and identifies key skill areas across technical, semantic, organisational, legal and ethical dimensions. It also reflects the diversity of professional profiles involved in interoperability, including healthcare professionals, IT specialists and managers.
For XiA, this work is a foundational step. It supports the project’s broader objective of translating skills needs into competencies, learning outcomes and educational content that can be reused across Europe.
A XiA panel on building interoperability capacity for the EHDS
XiA also organised a dedicated panel titled:
“From Needs to Action: Building Interoperability Capacity for the European Health Data Space – Progress in XiA”
The panel brought together Simon Lewerenz, Brian Dixon, Francini Hak, Silje Henni, Evangelos Markatos and Henrique Martins, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of the XiA project and its connection with both European and international health informatics expertise.
The discussion focused on XiA’s progression from initial vision to operational implementation. While interoperability is often presented as a technical challenge, the panel highlighted that the successful deployment of the EHDS also requires structured workforce development, role-specific learning pathways and sustainable educational ecosystems.
The session explored how XiA is moving from needs analysis and conceptual modelling towards concrete educational outputs, including learning families, micro-content learning blocks and co-created training resources. It also presented the project’s approach to structuring learning content for different audiences, from developers and IT specialists to managers and healthcare professionals.
Connecting with European projects, SMEs and implementation communities
MIE 2026 was also an opportunity for XiA partners to connect with other initiatives and actors working on related challenges.
During the conference, XiA exchanged with the SUSA project, receiving valuable advice and insights from experts involved in digital health education and sustainable healthcare. The project team also connected with other European initiatives such as AIDAVA, as well as SMEs working on practical implementation challenges in the digital health ecosystem.
These exchanges are important for XiA because interoperability education cannot be developed in isolation. Building capacity for the EHDS requires alignment with existing projects, implementation experience, standards communities, industry actors and educational institutions.
The discussions in Genoa therefore helped reinforce XiA’s position as a bridge between policy objectives, technical standards, training design and real-world implementation needs.
Building the workforce behind interoperable digital health
XiA’s presence at MIE 2026 confirmed a key message: Europe is moving from defining interoperability requirements to building the workforce capable of implementing them.
The EHDS will require professionals who can understand data flows, apply standards, manage interoperability projects, assess ethical and security requirements, and collaborate across institutional and professional boundaries.
Through its scientific contribution, panel session and exchanges with the wider MIE community, XiA continued to advance its mission: supporting Europe with structured, modular and reusable education for digital health interoperability.
As the project enters its next phase, the insights gathered at MIE 2026 will contribute to the refinement of XiA learning outcomes, training content and engagement with communities across Europe.