We started the afternoon with a nice ice breaker and played Game of Truth. This evoked childhood traumas of musical chairs for some of us, but in most of us a great sense of enthusiasm and energy. It was fun and interesting to learn a bit more about each other personally, in addition to our expertise at work.
Update on ACH
After this fun introduction Martijn Huisman gave a short update on the structure, mission and vision of ACH. Emiel Hoogendijk had spoken to many members personally in the past period. What emerged from these conversations included: lack of clarity about the exact goal of ACH and the role of the steering committee (and the MT). As a solution, Martijn provided a clear explanation of the structure of ACH including an overview of all members in the organization. As ACH we have promised cohort support and research and this will be evaluated after this year. In November there will be a first site visit by the evaluation committee at Amsterdam UMC. At the end of his presentation, He provided a few main updates, including which new cohorts have joined or will possibly join ACH, and how ACH could be more embedded within Amsterdam UMC in the future.
3-minute pitches
The updates were followed by four pitches given by Awa (working group Data Catalogue), Martijn (working group Machine readable cohort data), Femke (Researchers’ community) and Lannie (Data managers’ community). They all managed to keep their pitches short and concise. The audience was asked to point out what inspired and triggered them in a positive way after each pitch, actually making this part of the meeting a shower of compliments.
Keynote Wim Timens about UMCG’s cohort hub
After a short break during which we were still doing our very best to finish the bowl of chocolate easter eggs, the floor was given to prof.dr. Wim Timens, chairman of the UMCG – Cohort and Biobank Coordination Hub in Groningen. He gave an interesting 30-minute talk about how they started in 2019 and what the UMCG’s cohort hub vision and impact is. It was very inspiring to hear that at their Hub in Groningen already 200 cohorts were included, comparing to ACH’s 19 cohorts. As can be seen in the presentation that he has shared, UMCG-CBCH collaborates with both local health care organizations as well as international research partners, offering a broad data collection. It was nice to hear about similarities, such as the use of Molgenis for our data catalogue. But we also gained new insights and inspiration., for example the existence of a service desk within their cohort hub and the use of beautiful figures as promotional material.
Reflective session
All attendees were well taken care of and to balance out all of the chocolate, we were provided with a delicious and refreshing smoothie. It was then time to reflect on what was mentioned so far during the meeting. Six random groups were formed in which we discussed what the quick wins could be for ACH, based on what had been discussed in the opening talk, the pitches and the external expert view. Thereafter, everyone gathered in their own working group or community and actions and strategies for the future were reflected upon. see the image below to get an idea of what was discussed.
Wrap-up
The afternoon was wrapped up by Martijn again, acknowledging the need for a knowledge platform and guidance, and emphasizing that we are still in a pioneering phase, but that we’re building a sustainable foundation for the future of ACH. The meeting was closed with some drinks, leaving everyone enthusiastic and inspired. Let’s keep the momentum going together!
