Following the success of the inaugural Innovation Session held during the 2026 World Congress in Prague, the World Health Organization and ESCEO are pleased to announce the expansion of this initiative for the 2027 edition of the Congress in Vienna.

The session will now be presented as the WHO-ESCEO Bone and Joint Innovative Session, reflecting its broader focus on both osteoporosis and osteoarthritis innovation.

Taking place on 8 April 2027, immediately before the Opening Ceremony at the Vienna Congress venue, the session will provide a unique platform to showcase some of the most promising scientific and technological advances in musculoskeletal health.

For the Bone Component, participation will be open and limited to corporate members of PRECCO as well as academic researchers.
For the Joint Component, this inaugural edition will be open exclusively to corporate partners.

Each selected applicant will have 7 minutes to present a concise pitch highlighting what they consider to be the most innovative aspect of their current research or development.

Three prestigious awards will be presented:

• WHO-ESCEO Innovation Prize for Osteoarthritis Research
• WHO-ESCEO Innovation Prize for Academic Research in Osteoporosis
• WHO-ESCEO Innovation Prize for Corporate Research in Osteoporosis

Together, these three prizes aim to highlight scalable and impactful solutions, spanning both academic and corporate innovation, that improve musculoskeletal health outcomes globally.

In addition to these awards, applications demonstrating a high level of scientific excellence will receive a WHO Collaborating Centre–ESCEO Certificate of Excellence, recognising outstanding innovation even if not selected for one of the Innovation Prizes.

Application process

1. Submission categories

   1. Osteoarthritis Research
   2. Academic Research in Osteoporosis
   3. Corporate Research in Osteoporosis

2. Eligibility

   For the Bone Component, participation will be open and limited to corporate members of PRECCO as well as academic researchers.

   For the Joint Component, this inaugural edition will be open exclusively to corporate partners.

   • Innovations should be at least in the prototype or early implementation stage with demonstrated feasibility.
   • Preference will be given to solutions that address equity, accessibility, and usability among older adults.
   • For osteoarthritis, a preliminary selection of the applicants will be made by the ESCEO Scientific Advisory Board in collaboration with WHO Executives, two months prior to the Congress.

3. Submission process and timeline

   Activity	Timeline (2026-27)	Details
   Call for Submissions Opens	2 November 2026	Submission of proposal — 5 pages (max)
   Deadline for Submissions	15 January 2027	All applications must be submitted by this time.
   Initial Review by ESCEO / WHO	15 January – 15 February 2027	Review submissions for eligibility.
   Public Pitching Session	8 April 2027	Applicants present innovations during WCO-IOF-ESCEO, before the Opening Ceremony.
   Award Ceremony	8 April 2027	Winners announced at the Opening Ceremony of the WCO-IOF-ESCEO.

4. Judging process

   Judging Panel

   • Jotheeswaran Amuthavalli Thiyagarajan
     Department of Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing, WHO HQ
   • Sameer Pujari
     Lead AI at WHO, Vice Chair AI 4 health WHO ITU expert group, Department of Digital Health & Innovation, WHO, HQ
   • Rene Rizzoli
     Chair of WHO BOHEG (Bone Health Expert Working Group), Geneva, Switzerland

   Judges' Responsibilities

   • Review the submissions
   • Shortlist the finalists
   • Attend the public pitching session during WCO-IOF-ESCEO 2027
   • Evaluate each innovation using a standardized scorecard provided in advance
   • Submit rankings by April 2027

5. Evaluation Criteria

   • Innovation and creativity – Novelty and originality of the concept.
   • Impact and relevance – Potential to improve prevention or rehabilitation.
   • Feasibility and scalability – Viability of implementation and potential for broader adoption.
   • Equity and accessibility – Contribution to reducing disparities, including for low-resource settings.
   • User-centric design – Usability, engagement, and responsiveness to older adults’ needs.
   • Evidence of effectiveness – Data or pilot results demonstrating measurable impacts.

6. Contact information

   For any questions regarding the submission process or eligibility, please contact Professor René Rizzoli.

7. How to submit

   Please send your application to Mr. Martin Scheffer at scheffer@humacom.com.

   Upon submission, applicants will receive an acknowledgement of receipt by email. If no acknowledgement is received within 48 hours, applicants are kindly requested to contact the Congress Secretariat to ensure that their application has been successfully received.