Helen Staak returns to Tehnopol: Health technology needs collaboration and an international perspective

Helen Staak has taken up the position of Head of Health Technology at Tehnopol Science and Business Campus. The Tehnopol Health Technology Community includes 50 companies and organizations in the field. Staak took over the role from Merilin Varsamaa.

Helen Staak has extensive experience in developing e-health, service design, and health innovation projects in research institutions, hospital environments, and supporting entrepreneurship. She holds master’s degrees in e-Health from Tallinn University of Technology and in Interaction Design from the Estonian Academy of Arts. Previously, she worked in Tehnopol’s business development department, where she contributed to the activities of the Connected Health cluster and implemented various development programs (HivDigital, Migraine Innovation Challenge, COPD in Focus).

Before returning to Tehnopol, she worked at the North Estonia Medical Centre in the research and development team as a development specialist and service designer, focusing on innovation and development projects. Her work included promoting patient safety culture, applying design thinking methods, and piloting digital solutions in the hospital environment.

“I decided to rejoin the Tehnopol team to support the growth of health technology companies and the entire sector, as well as the adoption of new technologies,” Staak said. “It is crucial to foster collaboration between research institutions, entrepreneurs, hospitals, and the public sector both in Estonia and internationally, because these solutions not only create value for individual users but also contribute to the development of the entire sector.”

According to her, one of the biggest challenges is ensuring that new solutions do not remain merely at the pilot project stage.

“The process is often time-consuming and complex, especially when resources and partners need to be found for real-world testing. There are many solutions in Estonia with the potential to address major health challenges and improve the quality of care pathways and patient experience. I look forward to helping companies realize their growth potential, bring solutions into everyday use, and support their expansion to international markets,” Staak added.

According to Tehnopol’s Head of Business Development, Martin Goroško, the health technology community represents one of Tehnopol’s strategic focus areas.

“In the health technology field, we see great growth potential in Estonia, driven by export-ready companies with strong products, as well as the research and development institutions, universities, and hospitals that collaborate with them. Therefore, I am very pleased that Helen will now lead the development of Tehnopol’s health sector. She brings a powerful combination of academic and practical experience. I believe Helen will be able to support our community’s companies at every stage of development and create the best conditions for cross-sector collaboration,” said Goroško.