HERACLES officially launched in Bari, linking research, innovation and AI-driven solutions through collaboration between universities, research centres and businesses.
A new cooperation journey starts in Bari to strengthen collaboration between universities, research centres and businesses, supporting the development and uptake of AI-driven solutions across the Mediterranean region.
On 11 – 12 February 2026, partners gathered in Bari for the official Kick-off Meeting of HERACLES – Healthcare Enterprises and Research Alliance for Collaboration, Learning, and Exploitation of AI-driven business Solutions, a project funded by the Interreg NEXT MED Programme. Hosted by the University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, the meeting marked the beginning of a new transnational cooperation effort aimed at connecting research, healthcare and innovation ecosystems around a shared challenge: how to turn Artificial Intelligence into useful, responsible and scalable solutions for health systems.
Bringing together universities, research centres and innovation actors from Italy, Greece, Spain, Lebanon and Tunisia, HERACLES starts from a clear premise: healthcare challenges today are too complex to be addressed in isolation. Predictive medicine, health crisis preparedness, technology transfer and the uptake of advanced digital tools all require stronger links between scientific knowledge, clinical realities and business capacity. This is precisely the space where HERACLES intends to act.
From fragmented expertise to shared capacity
Across the Mediterranean, healthcare systems and innovation ecosystems face uneven capacities, different regulatory frameworks and varying levels of access to digital solutions. At the same time, research results often struggle to move beyond laboratories and become practical tools, services or opportunities for healthcare providers and enterprises. HERACLES responds to this gap by building a transnational network where academic, clinical and entrepreneurial actors can work together, exchange knowledge and co-develop AI-driven solutions tailored to real territorial needs.
The Kick-off Meeting in Bari reflected this ambition from the very beginning. During the first day, partners presented their institutional ecosystems, core expertise and ongoing research activities, showing the strong interdisciplinary foundation of the consortium. Public health specialists, economists, epidemiologists, biomedical engineers, innovation actors and researchers in AI and medical applications all contributed to shaping a common starting point for the project. What emerged clearly was not only the diversity of backgrounds, but also a shared willingness to build something together across disciplines, sectors and countries.
A network designed to generate solutions
At the centre of HERACLES is the idea that cooperation should not stop at exchange, but lead to structured and repeatable collaboration. For this reason, the project will establish a Transnational Research Network supported by a digital knowledge exchange platform, stakeholder mapping activities and a participatory design process to define the network’s governance and operating model. The aim is to create a framework where research institutions, healthcare actors and enterprises can jointly identify needs, share resources and co-create AI-enabled responses with practical relevance.
During the co-design discussion held in Bari, the Lead Partner presented an initial vision of the HERACLES pilot as the convergence of three interconnected pillars: a community of knowledge, a research and clinical environment, and a business incubation environment. In this perspective, the platform represents the place where collaboration becomes operational, enabling the development and validation of AI-driven solutions for real healthcare needs.
This discussion also helped clarify an important direction for the next phase of the project: before choosing a specific demonstrator, partners agreed on the need to better understand actual demand from healthcare providers and stakeholders. The first steps of HERACLES will therefore focus on needs assessment and stakeholder mapping, ensuring that future tools are not only innovative, but also relevant, usable and grounded in real contexts.
AI, responsibility and real-world relevance
HERACLES is not only about promoting the uptake of advanced technologies. It is also about making sure that innovation is meaningful, trustworthy and aligned with public interest. Throughout the meeting, partners underlined that data alone is not enough, and that AI tools must be developed around the right questions, within appropriate legal and ethical frameworks, and with attention to trust, social inequities and real healthcare conditions. This shared understanding gives the project a strong human and institutional dimension from the outset.
The second day of the meeting also benefited from direct contributions by the Joint Secretariat of the Interreg NEXT MED Programme, which provided guidance on project management, financial implementation, reporting obligations, communication and visibility requirements. These sessions helped frame the operational path ahead and confirmed the strategic relevance of HERACLES within the Programme, particularly as one of the first approved projects under the specific objective focused on research, innovation and advanced technologies in the health domain.
A shared path for the Mediterranean
HERACLES is coordinated by the University of Bari “Aldo Moro” and involves the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, the University of Ioannina, the University of Huelva, the Lebanese University, the Business Incubation Association in Tripoli (BIAT) and the Centre of Biotechnology of Sfax. Together, the partnership combines public health, clinical research, economics, biotechnology, innovation support and technology transfer expertise to explore how AI can contribute to more effective healthcare services and stronger preparedness capacities across the Mediterranean.
What started in Bari as a formal project launch already pointed to something broader: a collective effort to connect knowledge with application, research with enterprise, and innovation with public value. Over the coming months, HERACLES will begin shaping its network, mapping needs across territories and laying the foundations for cooperation models that can help turn AI research into concrete benefits for healthcare systems and communities across the Mediterranean.
Last Update
08/04/2026
Next Med