Sarah Tuytschaever - Participant 2020-2021
“I became more resilient and less risk averse. I learned to invest my energy where I can make a difference.”
Role
The original scope of Sarah’s project was to develop and lead partnerships with tech companies in China, searching for new technologies to provide differentiated outcomes to patients with Parkinson’s Disease.
Responsibilities
As her stay in China was cancelled due to COVID, Sarah started out by providing strategic and organizational support to the newly established Digital Transformation Project (DBT) team within immunology. At the same time, she also worked on translating UCB’s digital ambition into more tangible strategies.
She was also given the opportunity to innovate and explore the possibilities of technology in healthcare for psoriasis and for Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) patients. For the latter, she developped a multi-sided platform to give them access to a correct diagnosis and optimal treatment.
How she benefited
Sarah’s main challenge throughout this Prince Albert Fund year was how to cope with the constant change and uncertainty that comes with a global pandemic.
“During my project, I concentrated on leveraging my strengths, building my professional network and looking for learning opportunities”, she says. In the process, she also learned where her future ambitions lie: at the intersection of technology, entrepreneurship and patient value.
The company – UCB
UCB is a global biopharma company, focusing on neurology and immunology. It was created in 1928 in Belgium and now employs more than 7,600 people in all corners of the globe. Today it helps thousands of patients in more than 80 countries.
“Sarah demonstrated her strengths in all the projects and objectives of 2020, bringing added value in project management and strategy development. She provided structure and clarity to the projects she was leading.”