About Health Frontiers – Technology Innovation Centre (HF-TIC)

HF-TIC unites 11 research and clinical organisations across three regions, alongside 25 MedTech SMEs.

Key academic and clinical partners include:

• Ulster University (NI) – Lead Institution
• Dundalk Institute of Technology (DKIT), Dublin City University (DCU), University College Dublin (UCD), and Atlantic Technological University (ATU) – Ireland
• Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI) and University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) – Scotland
• Southern, Belfast, and Northern Health & Social Care Trusts (NI) – Clinical Partners
• Health Innovation Research Alliance Northern Ireland (HIRANI)

HF-TIC focuses on transforming healthcare through three interlinked strands of research and innovation:

1. Next Generation Medical Device Technologies – Designing and validating innovative, user-centred medical devices that address pressing clinical needs.
2. Artificial Intelligence and Digital Health Systems – Leveraging data science, machine learning, and AI to enhance clinical decision-making and healthcare delivery.
3. Digital Transformation of Clinical Practice and Culture – Supporting clinicians and healthcare systems to adopt, trust, and embed technology-driven care.

Expected Outcomes

Through the Peace Plus IA2.2 framework, HF-TIC will:

• Engage 11 academic and clinical partners in collaborative research.
• Support 25 MedTech SMEs through targeted R&I projects, each delivering tangible outputs.
• Develop 25+ new products and processes ready for real-world healthcare application.
• Establish a new £45M Centre for Digital Healthcare Technology Hub in Belfast, a state-of-the-art facility housing researchers, clinicians, and industry innovators.
• Create long-term economic, health, and social impact by driving innovation, job creation, and sustainable cross-border collaboration.

This initiative will build capacity, enhance innovation culture, and enable the uptake of advanced technologies across the region, fulfilling the Peace Plus vision for shared prosperity through innovation.

Opportunities Presented by HF-TIC

Whether you're an entrepreneur, academic, or healthcare professional, HF-TIC provides the infrastructure, partnerships, and vision to shape the future of health technology.

For Industry

• Collaborate with leading research and clinical institutions to co-develop and validate cutting-edge MedTech and digital health solutions.
• Access regulatory, design, and innovation expertise to accelerate time-to-market.
• Benefit from dedicated R&I support under the Peace Plus Innovation Challenge Fund.

For Academia

• Participate in high-impact, multidisciplinary research with real clinical and societal outcomes.
• Build lasting collaborations across borders, accessing new funding and infrastructure.
• Contribute to a growing ecosystem that translates research into real-world healthcare innovation.

For Clinicians and Healthcare Systems

• Co-design and test technologies that respond directly to clinical needs.
• Be part of a culture shift toward digitally enabled healthcare practice.
• Improve patient safety, efficiency, and outcomes through innovation in care delivery.

For Communities and Patients

• Experience more connected, accessible, and effective healthcare solutions.
• Influence innovation through participatory research and user-centred design.
• Share in the wider benefits of a healthier, more collaborative, and technologically advanced region.

HF-TIC is more than a research centre, it is a collaborative engine for transformation, connecting people, technology, and purpose to create healthier futures for all.