BRUSSELS - International law firm Bird & Bird joins 26 organisations in a European Commission funded project that draws on big data to improve the health and wellbeing of European citizens.
"Smart Big Data Platform to Offer Evidence-based Personalised Support for Healthy and Independent Living at Home" – or SMART-BEAR – is a European Commission sponsored research and innovation project which launched on 1 September 2019.
The four-year project aims to build a platform to address the social, health and financial issues faced by Europe's ageing population.
"It is an honour for Bird & Bird to join such an impressive group of researchers, experts and professionals for the ambitious SMART-BEAR project," said Benoit Van Asbroeck, managing partner at Bird & Bird's Brussels office.
The platform will compile and analyse personal data from seniors' day-to-day lives to generate the evidence needed to offer personalised suggestions to promote healthy and independent living. It will also connect to hospitals and other healthcare service systems to determine the most appropriates care for patients.
"Europeans are becoming more aware of data privacy, and it's especially relevant when dealing with health and wellbeing," Van Asbroeck continued. "Our contribution will help maximise the benefits senior citizens can gain from the platform while respecting their privacy and protecting their personal details."
Bird & Bird's Technology & Communications team in Brussels has been recognised for its input in other EU projects, and has been invited to join the consortium of 27 partners including Atos Spain SA, City University of London, Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche (Italy) and IBM Israel – Science and Technology Ltd, among others.
Together with the consortium, Bird & Bird's expert lawyers will carry out legal research and analysis while monitoring to ensure the project complies with the requirements of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and privacy.
The SMART-BEAR project is financed by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union under Grant Agreement number: 857172
