Preparing for Bigpicture’s 2024 Annual Meeting in Liège, Belgium

Diversity and expertise: the driving force behind Bigpicture

Reflecting on past gatherings, Anna-Lena highlighted the vitality of in-person interaction. “The diversity of consortium members from academia, industry and beyond is fantastic,” she emphasized, underlining the multitude of disciplines and areas of expertise that collaborate within Bigpicture. The consortium’s emphasis on data science and its integration into various domains stand as a testament to its collaborative spirit. Anna-Lena noted, “Even when you think you are very much involved in the project, you continuously learn new things—exciting new things.”

An exciting hosting opportunity

Anna-Lena expressed her excitement about Janssen’s involvement in the annual meeting, which is a cornerstone networking event for the consortium and a platform to showcase the project’s progress. “The active collaboration between stakeholders is at the core of the meeting”, says Anna-Lena while emphasizing the importance of integrating partners’ perspectives into the project.

Networking: joining forces is key

The 2024 annual meeting will review accomplishments since the 2023 event and will focus on storage of the digital slides with their metadata on the platform, networking and knowledge exchange. “We are still in the process of selecting the topics of discussion, given the number of achievements attained this year,” Anna-Lena shared. With the project heading to its mid-term, the meeting is anticipated to highlight at least one of the key tasks in the coming year: the uploading of a substantial amount of data, including digital slides and their metadata.

Shaping the path forward

With a view from the EFPIA standpoint, Anna-Lena underscores the opportunity that this mid-term annual meeting offers to steer the project towards its goals. “This is the moment where we still have the possibility to adapt and fine-tune things.” Anna-Lena applauded the progress achieved so far, particularly praising the remarkable teamwork alongside the diversity of contributors.

About hosting city Liège

As the 2024 Annual Meeting inches closer, all eyes turn to Liège, Belgium – a location suggested by consortium partner Cytomine. Located on the Meuse river, Liège is the largest city in the French-speaking region of Wallonia. Founded by the Romans as Leodium, the city has a rich history. It became a powerful medieval principality and later seized the spotlight during the industrial revolution as a key player in coal mining and steel production.