ICT&health is taking the next strategic step in its development. With a strengthened editorial board, a clear international ambition and the appointment of Lucien Engelen as Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer (CSIO), the platform aims to further expand its role as a driver of digital healthcare innovation, both in the Netherlands and beyond.
With this appointment, ICT&health aims to position itself even more firmly as the independent knowledge and networking platform at the intersection of healthcare, technology and innovation. This will be achieved not only by deepening content, but also by actively connecting networks, perspectives and international developments.
Further strengthening the editorial board
An important step in this direction is the expansion and strengthening of the editorial board. With the arrival of former Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport Conny Helder as chair of the editorial board, among others, additional administrative and policy experience will be added. This underlines ICT&health's role as a platform where healthcare practice, policy and innovation come together.
At the same time, strategic clout is being increased with the appointment of Lucien Engelen as Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer. In this role, Engelen will be actively involved in the direction and further development of ICT&health. Not from a distance, but as an advisor, co-thinker and, as he himself characterises it, a “meddler” who uses his experience and international network to increase impact. ‘ICT&health is at the forefront and is one of the most influential pioneers in the field of (digital) healthcare transition. And to maintain that lead, you have to dare to change,’ says the brand-new CSIO.
Extensive experience
Engelen's appointment is part of a broader movement. He brings decades of experience in acute care, healthcare innovation and digital transformation. After an earlier career in ambulance care and HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Services), he spent eleven years at Radboudumc, where he was one of the founders of the REshape & Innovation Centre. During those years, healthcare innovation became structurally embedded in an academic healthcare environment, with national and international appeal.
That period marked the start of a broader career in innovation, in which Engelen supported organisations such as academic hospitals, regional healthcare institutions, governments and companies. Always with the same motivation: to make healthcare work better for patients, their loved ones and healthcare professionals. Even after leaving Radboudumc, that mission remained his guiding principle. Through strategic advisory roles, projects and international keynotes, of which there were more than ninety this year, 2025, he continued to actively contribute to the conversation about the future of healthcare. This international orientation fits in seamlessly with the course of ICT&health.
Take, for example, the rapid developments in the field of AI. The past year and a half has been dominated by dozens, no, hundreds, of AI tools, algorithms and solutions promising to make our healthcare system, from diagnosis to treatment and cure, better, faster and more accurate. And, incidentally, they will also solve the ever-growing problems of extremely high workloads and staff shortages. However... ‘As long as our healthcare data remains as fragmented as it is now, with data stored in dozens of different systems, AI will not take off,’ says Engelen.
New role, greater impact
As CSIO, Engelen will focus on the further expansion of ICT&health along three core pillars: the magazine, the digital platform and the conferences. The magazine reaches more than 120,000 readers per edition, online and offline. The digital platform serves more than 800,000 users per month and generates more than 1.5 million page views. The conferences attract around 10,000 visitors annually, the majority of whom are healthcare professionals. In 2026, dozens of podcasts will be added. Dozens of national and international experts, starting with keynote and other important speakers at the ICT&health World Conference, will share their vision on new (technological) developments that can really help advance healthcare.
The task is not only to further build on the results achieved, but also to increase the substantive and strategic impact. By connecting healthcare, technology and policy and making smart use of new technologies, innovative models and international cooperation, ICT&health accelerates healthcare innovation, with the Netherlands as an international hub and Europe as a scale for global cooperation.
International focus
This international ambition is being realised through, among other things, ICT&health Global, with the annual international conference in Maastricht as its highlight. At the end of January, healthcare professionals, innovators, policymakers and technology experts will come together to work on concrete solutions to current healthcare issues. The focus will be on applicability, scalability and real added value for practice.
With Engelen as CSIO, this international line will be further strengthened. His network, experience and vision should help to position ICT&health even more emphatically as a connecting link between healthcare practice, technology and strategy, even across national borders.
Looking ahead to 2026
With these steps, ICT&health is looking ahead to a new phase. A phase in which content, network and strategy reinforce each other. In which the platform not only follows what is happening in digital healthcare, but also actively guides the debate and practice.
The message for 2026 is clear: push ahead, connect and innovate. The ultimate goal is that digital technology is not an end in itself, but a means to make healthcare better, more accessible and more people-oriented. That is the common thread. And exactly where ICT&health wants to make a difference with the appointment of Lucien Engelen as CSIO. One of the most important and largest events on the calendar for 2026 is the ICT&health World Conference, from 27 to 29 January in Maastricht, with an exceptional group of speakers.
