American Telemedicine Association Expo 2011

Scottish Development International ATA Conference and Expo 2011

Janette Hughes – We’re in Tampa Florida just now at the largest Telemedicine conference in the world. The American Telemedicine Association has organized this conference, and what it brings together is the large companies and the smaller companies that are actually innovating for this sector.

Mike Cwalsinski – They have about 34,000 total delegates, which gives Scottish companies and universities an opportunity to network with decision makers, other organisations they potentially could partner with, if they are looking for partnerships, as well as generate revenue for themselves.

Dr Jon Sykes – I’m here at the moment with all of the people from around the world, coming to this one place, to talk about telehealthcare. It’s a fantastic opportunity for me to network, to show some of the work we are doing at GCAL and to meet people who can take my opportunities even further.

Ann Allison – We do have a lot of good work going on in Scotland and we need to advertise that very fact. The fact that we are small doesn’t mean that we aren’t producing some really good, relevant stuff and you can talk about that in Britain but is it not better to have a platform this size, where you can really tell the world what you do.

Janette Hughes – The conference is a great place to learn about where the trends are going, where the gaps are, where the opportunities lie and to see if there’s any synergy with what Scotland’s trying to develop and other places around the world.

Dr Christoph Thuemmler – You want to know what your competitors are doing, and I have found that a lot these companies that might have the same interests as we have are here and are around, so its good to understand the market, its good to understand what type of competitors you have to expect in a world market.

Dr Vassilis Charissis – From my side, as an academic, the most exciting bit is that we have a number of different kinds of companies and academic institutions at the same time, creating a unique atmosphere of collaboration.

Janette Hughes – The Scottish SMEs do well in America, if they do their research, if they focus their product and if they can bring a unique proposition to the marketplace.

Mike Cwalsinski – One of the advantages, I think, working with SDI, is you get a much bigger footprint and a much bigger presence than if you were to do it individually. We’ve absorbed the cost of the book, we also helped so that the marketing materials are all similar, so that individuals that pop up stands, so its not something that a company had to do themselves, and then there is a little bit of cash that they are offered to participate, so when you add all of those factors, I think its great value for organisations.

Dr Jon Sykes – They have also laid on a number of meetings with very, very important people in their field. People like Phillips, for example, MIT. It’s a fantastic opportunity. But not only that, but they have also developed a number of materials for us. So we’ve got stands that they made of us, and brochures. It’s fantastic. Honestly, you couldn’t expect more support than that.

Mike Cwalsinski – I would say that, if you’re interested in internationalizing, growing the organisation, building partnerships, finding partners or just generating additional revenue, if you don’t come, you are not going to be able to participate.

Janette Hughes – If you are serious about telehealthcare, e-health, telemedicine, telerehab, this is the place where the knowledge is captured and transferred and you can make really key contacts.

Donna Henderson – I think its really important that Scottish companies take their blinkers off and get out there into the bigger world, see what other people are doing and make the most of that learning.

Mike Cwalsinski – Every opportunity, big or small, starts with the same thing – ‘I’ll give it a shot.’