Reflections from #ACDM23

This time last week we had just finished the eClinical Solutions sponsored wine tasting at #ACDM23 in sunny Barcelona and one week on I thought I would share my reflections from this excellent conference.

Networking – Delegant and the ACDM: Association for Clinical Data Management committee put a really nicely balanced agenda together that allowed for, in my view, the perfect amount of networking.?Sometimes you make the best connections when you least expect it and a chance sit down next to another delegate ( Sarah Dooley ) on the bus ride back to the hotel on Sunday evening led to an unofficial morning running club being established on both the Monday and Tuesday mornings and lots of sharing about common interests in a non-forced way.?To me, networking is about making a personal connection.?If this leads to something business related, then this is an added bonus of course, but never the primary objective – we are humans first ??

Collaboration and competition – These do not need to be mutually exclusive concepts.?We work in a diverse and complimentary ecosystem and the boundaries and rules related to who we work with or against are not clear cut anymore.?I personally think this is a good thing as winning doesn’t need to be a zero sum game, particularly when we work in life sciences and we are all striving to do what is best, ultimately for patients.?I heard many examples where tech vendors could collaborate and compete, the same for CRO’s and it’s my belief that this is a positive that will only mean we all get better at what we do, together. ?It was pleasing to hear a real appetite from sponsors for us all to collaborate more closely, whether this be in the context of playing nicely when it comes to integrations, or more broadly – Let's all win together is what I heard loud and clear!

AI/ML – Working for a vendor who has AI/ML capabilities within our platform, I am very excited by the promise and possibilities.?The buzz around AI/ML was noticeable and understandable, however what I believe needs to be shouted about equally as loud, if not louder, is the topic of data infrastructure/pipelines, because without these, embarking on an AI/ML initiative is a little bit like trying to build a castle on sand.? Hans Constandt told me once that you should never put the AI/ML cart before the data horse and I think he is right.

Other highlights:

1. Adrian Parrott is the ‘host with the most’ and once again had everyone laughing with his dry one liners at the awards night.
2. I have a lot of gratitude about working for eClinical Solutions and representing the elluminate data hub platform… for?a product that covers so many functional areas, it struck me that our team (led by Achilles Zaras ) are able to demonstrate all parts of the platform at the booth, on demand… a hat tip for having an out the box solution that works and can be shown and demonstrated wherever and whenever.
3. Don’t check out in a hurry… I managed to leave my Sony headphones somewhere (I think in my room, but who knows…) if anyone finds them, then would love them back ??

The ACDM: Association for Clinical Data Management continues to lead the way in terms of conferences for the data management community in my view and we look forward to continuing to support and benefit from the community, particularly in 2023 where we have launched biometric services to accompany what we were already doing in Europe with elluminate - thanks for reading and let's connect :)

Sam