International Partnership Beyond Transfer and Regulation: A Catalyst Lab for AI and Health Equity in LMIC Contexts
Scholars, physicians and scientists from Heidelberg and Harvard develop a catalyst lab for AI and Health in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC).
The Project
This projects explores the possibilities of a high-level catalyst lab for AI and health equity in low- and middle-income countries in Heidelberg with the aim to establish a strategic partnership starting with an exploratory phase of project development and collaborative phase. It brings together interdisciplinary experts from Harvard and Heidelberg University alongside researchers from LMIC and aims at developing a funding-ready projects and establish a long-term Strategic Partnership.
One focus of the partnership will be the governance frameworks guiding AI in health. We will work closely with partners in Africa, Asia and the Americas to bring the voices of LMIC actors to applications that are primarily developed in high-income contexts and often create a structural tension when applied globally. The current, flawed governance of AI applications simultaneously impedes uses with high societal benefits and deepens global social injustice through misaligned regulatory requirements that fails to address LMIC-specific risks such as data extractivism, power asymmetries, and inadequate benefit-sharing.
Two in-person workshops will take place in Heidelberg: one in spring and one in autumn 2027.
Team
The project connects researchers from various departments in Harvard and Heidelberg. It is is a co-organized by Heidelberg University's Jellinek-Center for Ethics, Institute for Medical and Data Ethics and Institute for Global Health and Harvard Medical School's Center for Bioethics. The project leads are Prof. Dr. Dr. Eva Winkler (Heidelberg) and Prof. Dr. Edward M. Hundert (Harvard).
Explorer Seed Fund
The State of Baden-Württemberg supports the Heidelberg | Harvard Cooperation through its »Global Partnership in Science« program, enabling the creation of two funding lines through which concrete research partnerships between both universities are being initiated and developed into lasting structures: Strategic Partnership Grants and Explorer Seed Funds. Since April 2026, the cooperation has entered its operational phase: 23 joint projects from a broad range of disciplines of both universities have been approved and are underway.
The »Explorer Seed Fund« (ESF) enables researchers and research groups to initiate new transatlantic partnerships. Through targeted measures to intensify partnership activities, the fund provides new impetus for collaborative projects. The focus is on individual research stays by Harvard University researchers at Heidelberg University as well as academic events, targeting both leading and early-career researchers. The program aims to further strengthen the international excellence of both institutions.
