For the first time, the award ceremony took place as part of Unfold Värmland – a new three-day event with more than 40 programme items on development, innovation and sustainable social change. During the mingle evening at Olssons Bazar in Karlstad, participants from all over Sweden met, with representatives from the public sector, academia, business and civil society.
– It was an incredibly nice evening where different networks got to meet – and widen their circles. For DigitalWell Arena, it is an excellent context to shed light on one of our most important societal challenges: how we create the conditions for more sustainable and inclusive health,” says Marie Granander, Project Manager at DigitalWell Arena.
Every year, the DigitalWell Awards recognise role models from across the country for future health innovations. This year’s nominees showed an impressive breadth. The finalists include examples of initiatives that improve care flows and processes, but also innovations with the individual in focus – where technology can create greater security, accessibility and equality.
Final field with many winners
Given the achievements represented by all the nominees, there are really only winners – but the entries voted as this year’s recipients of the DigitalWell Awards 2025 are:
✔ Innovation capacity through collaboration: Björn Alexandersson, Vårdcentralen Eda
✔ Data & digital technology: Kim Toft Madsen, Aquatime
✔ Service development & commercialisation: Karin Frejsjö, Karlstad Municipality
✔ Individual participation: Lisa Hedin and Judith Gönster Rotevatn, Sundsta-Älvkullegymnasiet Karlstad
Three of the winners came from DigitalWell Arena’s “home turf” in Värmland. The fourth, Kim Toft Madsen, had flown in from Copenhagen to attend the award ceremony. After five years of work, his smart drinking glass, which prevents dehydration in the elderly, has now reached 20 per cent of Denmark’s municipalities – and the work of establishing the solution on the Swedish market has just begun.
– “I’m so proud, not for myself but for all the employees who have been involved in developing this solution. And not least the customers who have embraced the glass and given us feedback on the value it brings – both for the elderly and for carers,” says Kim Toft Madsen.
Provides concrete examples of the value of health innovation
Marie Granander was delighted with both the winners and all the nominees, whose efforts concretise what digital health innovation means in practice, and how digital solutions can meet both everyday needs and larger system challenges.
– “Our twelve finalists show how innovation can take shape in different parts of the ecosystem – from technology and research to practical business development and new ways to empower the individual,” says Marie Granander. “This is the whole we need to build on if we are to meet the major demographic challenges facing healthcare.
