HLTH Europe 2026 brought global health research and innovation leaders together under one roof at Amsterdam’s RAI Convention Centre earlier this month.

Representatives from across the North of England met with innovators from all corners of the globe to explore partnership opportunities and to showcase why the North is the place to invest in and deliver world-class health innovation.

The North of England is home to some of the best healthcare systems in the UK, top universities, and a multibillion pound health and life sciences sector. It also has a large diverse population that is representative of the UK, making it an ideal place for health research and innovation to take place.

This was the focus of the Northern Health Science Alliance’s partner programme event – ‘Northern Lights, Brighter Health’ – which highlighted the region’s collective strengths, with input from speakers from Liverpool Health Partners (LHP), University Hospitals of Liverpool Group (UHLG), The Great North and West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, NIHR Health Tech Research Centre in Emergency and Acute Care, and the North East Strategic Mayoral Authority.

Northern leaders were also well represented on HLTH Europe stages with the NHSA’s Chief Executive, Hannah Davies, moderating sessions on the Provider Stage and NHSA Chair and LHP Chief Executive, Professor Louise Kenny, delivering a session which championed Liverpool’s – and the wider North’s – joined-up, evidence-driven approach to health innovation.

Other northern voices from across the NHSA membership that also spoke during the conference included Health Innovation Yorkshire and Humber’s Richard Stubbs and Neville Young, and Dr Nisha Sharma from Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

For the second year, the NHSA worked with Liverpool Health Partners to coordinate a delegation of experts from across the Liverpool city region to the conference. Representatives fromUHLG, the University of Liverpool, Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Civic Health Innovation Labs, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, and Health Innovation North West Coast formed part of the delegation.

Dr Ben Martyn, Executive Lead for Investment and International Partnerships, said: “HLTH Europe was a powerful platform for showcasing why the North is one of the most compelling places for health innovators to invest, collaborate and deliver impact.

This is our third year at the conference, and each year gets bigger and better. It was fantastic to see such strong northern representation and for our region’s globally competitive health and life sciences sector to gain the attention it deserves on aninternational scale.

“Partnership and collaboration are at the heart of what we do at the NHSA, and it was pleasure to work with Liverpool Health Partners again this year. Liverpool’s cohesive health ecosystem shows the impact and influence which can be achieved through collaborative cross-sector working. These strengths were evident in the many connections that were made with potential partners during the four-day conference.

“The strength of northern collaboration was also demonstrated on the Yorkshire and the North East stand, which we were thrilled to be part of this year. It is a testament to what can be achieved when we come together to tell the wider story of the North to global audiences.”

Dr Christine Cornforth, Managing Director of Liverpool Health Partners, said: “HLTH Europe provided an outstanding opportunity to showcase the strength of Liverpool City Region as part of the North’s world leading health and life sciences ecosystem. Working alongside the Northern Health Science Alliance and partners from across the region demonstrated the power of collaboration in attracting international interest, creating new partnerships and highlighting the North as a destination for research, innovation and investment. We were proud to contribute Liverpool City Region’s expertise and to show how collaboration across our NHS, universities, industry and civic partners is helping to accelerate innovation, deliver world leading research and improve the health of our communities.”

Read more about our Northern Lights, Brighter Health session at HLTH 2026 here: https://www.thenhsa.co.uk/2026/06/the-north-is-open-for-business-northern-leaders-showcase-research-and-innovation-excellence/