Rostock – At NØRD 2026, the plans for a Digital Health Campus at University Medicine Rostock are being presented for the first time today. The campus is being developed in close cooperation with the University of Rostock and the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research (Fraunhofer IGD). The initiative aims to further strengthen Rostock as a central hub for digital health research, medical technology, and clinical translation in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. At the same time, it will create an innovation environment designed to accelerate the transfer of scientific findings into medical practice. The Digital Health Campus is one of four pillars within the University of Rostock’s central scientific alliance “AI4SmartTechnologies,” which strategically coordinates and consolidates research activities in machine learning and artificial intelligence.

“The Digital Health Campus demonstrates how excellent research can create tangible future prospects for our state. Science, medicine, and technology are working closely together here to develop innovative solutions with direct benefits for the people of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania,” says Bettina Martin, Minister for Science, Culture, Federal and European Affairs. She emphasizes that, particularly in light of demographic change and the challenges facing healthcare provision, new digital approaches are urgently needed.

The Digital Health Campus combines the medical expertise of University Medicine Rostock with the engineering and data science capabilities of the University of Rostock, as well as the application-oriented research of Fraunhofer IGD. Together, the partners are developing digital solutions intended to help detect diseases earlier, tailor therapies more individually, and sustainably improve medical aftercare—especially in the largely rural state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

One focus of the project is the intelligent integration of medical data from clinics, everyday life, and digital measurement systems. This is intended to better support physicians in assessing individual disease progressions and selecting appropriate treatments in the future. “With the Digital Health Campus, we are creating a scientific beacon in Rostock where medicine, technology, and data are intelligently combined to noticeably improve healthcare in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania,” explains Prof. Dr. Bernd Krause, Dean and Scientific Director of University Medicine Rostock.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research is contributing its expertise particularly in the development of digital technologies and intelligent applications. “This close collaboration creates strong synergies and sustainably strengthens the Digital Health focus both at the Rostock site and throughout the entire Fraunhofer Society,” says Dr.-Ing. Matthias Unbescheiden, Institute Director at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research.

The University of Rostock is also making a key contribution through its expertise in computer science and data science. This includes the development of digital models that bring together complex health data in an understandable way, thereby opening up new possibilities for personalized medicine. “With flexible data architectures, we are creating the conditions needed to meaningfully connect medical information and make it usable for better decision-making,” explains Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kurt Sandkuhl from the Faculty of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. Prof. Sandkuhl emphasizes that only the close cooperation of all partners involved can enable the establishment of a sustainable innovation ecosystem.