Novo Symposium 2026:
Leadership for Tomorrow’s Healthcare – Turning Challenges with Digitalisation into Sustainable Solutions
Leadership for future challenges in healthcare
We are delighted to announce the upcoming NOVO (Nordic Research Network) Symposium on 7th – 8th of May 2026, centered on navigating future healthcare, including turning challenges with digitalisation into sustainable solutions.
This symposium seeks to gather a diverse mix of healthcare professionals, academics, and PhD students to discuss recent research about perspectives of work environment, efficiency, and quality of care (the NOVO triangle) – to support sustainable healthcare systems.
Conference summary |
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| 7th – 8th of May 2026 | |
| KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm | |
| Deadline 30th of March 2026 | |
| EUR 350 | |
| Register |
Novo Symposium 2026
The healthcare sector faces unprecedented challenges that demand effective and innovative leadership. The theme of our symposium underscores the critical need for dynamic and efficient leadership to navigate these complexities. As we integrate perspectives of work environment, efficiency, and quality of care, our goal is to pave the way for a sustainable and resilient future.
Our discussions will encompass a range of pertinent topics in health care, including sustainable leadership, data-driven strategies, emerging digital tools, and teamwork. The NOVO Symposium 2026 is an essential confluence of ideas and solutions tailored for those committed to shaping the future of sustainable healthcare. Your participation will contribute to a vibrant dialogue on developing leadership strategies that not only meet current healthcare demands but also enhance and sustain the work environments where healthcare professionals thrive.
We invite you to join us in Stockholm 7th – 8th of May 2026 for insightful discussions, networking opportunities, and the chance to contribute to transformative healthcare strategies and leadership.
We welcome presentations in these aspects from a wide range of disciplines.
Target group
This symposium seeks to gather a diverse mix of healthcare professionals, academics, and PhD students to discuss recent research about perspectives of work environment, efficiency and quality of care – to support sustainable healthcare systems.
Topics of Novo 2026
- Digital Transformation in Healthcare: Leveraging technology and digital services to enhance patient care, streamline administrative processes, and support data-driven decision-making for healthcare employees.
- Artificial Intelligence and Ethical Leadership: Exploring the use of AI in healthcare — its potential for improving efficiency and HRM, as well as the ethical considerations for leaders and practitioners.
- Leadership for AI-Driven Change: Understanding how leaders can dynamically use AI and other forms of digitalization for developing sustainable healthcare.
- Sustainable Leadership for Healthy Work Environments: Crafting leadership strategies that promote both operational efficiency and employee well-being, fostering resilience and long-term sustainability in healthcare organizations.
- Teamwork, Learning, and Professional Development: Building collaborative cultures that promote continuous learning, trust, and collective excellence across professional groups.
- Healthy Healthcare Systems: Evidence from Practice: Presenting successful cases where leadership, collaboration, and organisational culture have led to sustainable work environments and improved patient outcomes.
We prefer abstracts on these topics, but other options are also welcome. Overall, the abstract should highlight that improving the work environment in healthcare must be linked to efficiency and quality aspects — combining good working conditions with high performance for long-term organisational sustainability.
We further call for proposals for interactive workshops on project ideas that can lead to funding and joint projects.
The symposium is cross-disciplinary, and we expect both professionals and managers from healthcare as well as academics from a wide array of academic disciplines such as nursing, public health, operations management, and occupational health.
We look forward to welcoming you to an engaging and inspiring symposium!
NIVA Course
In connection with the NOVO Symposium, NIVA is offering the course Effective Strategies for Healthcare Leaders: Enhancing Well-Being at Work. The course will take place on 6th – 7th of May 2026, including participation in the first day of the NOVO Symposium. Both the course and the Symposium take place at KTH in Stockholm.
The course is designed for PhD students and practitioners in the healthcare sector who wish to deepen their understanding of sustainable leadership and workplace well-being.
If you want to further explore the theme of healthcare leadership and network with colleagues before the Novo Symposium 2026 – welcome to take part in our two-day course.
The course will be worth 2,5 ECTS credits for those who also make a reflection assignment and participate in an online seminar during autumn 2026.
Important dates and practical information
Instructions regarding abstracts and workshops
Abstracts in English, maximum 350 words apart from the title, authors and affiliations (TimesNewRoman 12, spacing 1, left and right margins 2 cm, header and footer 2.5 cm). Abstracts should contain:
- Title, names of authors, name of presenting author bolded, affiliations of authors.
- Introduction, Aim, Material and Methods, Results, Conclusions (or similar).
- Indicate if oral- or poster presentation is preferred.
Workshop proposals should be maximum of 500 words and describe the purpose, format and content of the workshop.
Upload abstract and workshop proposals as a Word file HERE.
Deadline: 26th of January 2026
Decision of abstract acceptance: 23rd of February 2026
Registration
Deadline: 30th of March 2026. Register here.
Schedule:
Day 1, Thursday May 7th: Symposium 9:00 – 16:00
Social program and dinner 18.00 – 21:00
Day 2, Friday May 8th: Symposium 9.00 – 15.00
Location:
KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
Conference Fee:
350 € including coffee, lunches, dinner and social program
Organising Committee
Andrea Eriksson
Professor, Division of Ergonomics,
KTH Royal Institute of Technology
andrea4@kth.se
Anna Dahlgren
Assistant Professor, Stockholm university
anna.dahlgren@su.se
Kasper Edwards
Associate Professor, Technical University of Denmark
kaed@dtu.dk
Price information
Conference package
This package includes
- conference facilities and technical equipment
- coffees and lunches 7th and 8th of May
- dinners and social program 7th of May
Accommodation
NIVA has made a block reservation for the accommodation 5th – 8th of May 2026 at Hotel Birger Jarl, Tulegatan 8, Stockholm. The hotel is located about 1.5 km from KTH.
The room price for a single standard room is SEK 1825 (≈ EUR 167) including breakfast.
The room price for a double standard room is SEK 1995 (≈ EUR 183) including breakfast.
To book a room from the block (one, two or three nights) please e-mail the hotel at group.meeting@birgerjarl.se and mention the booking code 141053.
The block reservation will be available until 30th of March 2026.
