By SHANNON O. WELLS
In 2024, Chancellor Joan Gabel moderated a panel at the Global Federation of Competitiveness Council's (GFCC) Global Innovation Summit in Belfast, Ireland, sharing some of Pitt’s innovations and technology-driven leadership with a wide range of academic and industry leaders along the way.
This year, what Gabel may lose in European scenery and vibe, she gains in “hometown host” advantage as the 2025 summit will be held Oct. 19 to 21 in Pittsburgh. The GFCC and its founding member, the Council on Competitiveness (CoC), will present “Forging the Future: The Intersection of Health, AI & Tech,” hosted by Pitt in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University.
In a statement on the GFCC website, Gabel said this year’s global forum will “shine a spotlight on groundbreaking innovations — from Pitt BioForge and AI-powered diagnostics to next-generation clinical-training tools and assistive technologies” while showcasing Pittsburgh’s “unique” innovation ecosystem, fueled by “top-tier research institutions like Pitt,” one of the nation’s “top 20 most innovative universities.”
Gabel, a GFCC member who serves as academic vice-chair for the Council on Competitiveness, said Pittsburgh is “uniquely positioned” to host a global innovation forum because of its “strengths and strong sense of place” along with its “active partnerships already driving innovation” throughout the region.
“What sets Pittsburgh apart is the density of collaboration — across research, industry and health care — that’s already happening here,” she shared with the University Times. “We have the infrastructure, the expertise, and — critically — a culture of innovation rooted in partnership. That makes Pittsburgh not just a place to talk about the future, but to build it together.”
The exclusive, invitation-only event — called a “first-of-its-kind collaboration” between the Global Innovation Summit and the CoC’s Competitiveness Conversations Across America series — will bring together leaders from industry, government, business and academia.
The entities converging at the summit work at the intersection of artificial intelligence policy, technology translation and health innovation to examine how “AI and emerging technologies are transforming the health sector,” a Pitt spokesperson said, noting this is the first time the summit has been held in-person in the United States.
Bringing the two gatherings together “creates a unique opportunity to align global and national perspectives on innovation, economic development and technology leadership,” with the GFCC offering an international platform that “brings together leaders from dozens of countries to share best practices and strategies to boost innovation and competitiveness.”
On the GFCC website, Deborah L. Wince-Smith, president and CEO of the Council on Competitiveness, said Pittsburgh, which she called the “birthplace of U.S. industrial might in the 20th century,” continues to reinvent itself through a “combination of imagination, insight, ingenuity, invention and impact.
“In particular, the convergence of health sciences and AI in Pittsburgh is helping to remake the city as ‘the place’ developing and deploying many of the most critical innovations for our nation and the world.”
A University spokesperson responded to questions from the University Times about the summit and its goals.
University Times: What are the goals of the event? Other than BioForge, what Pitt-centric projects and topics will likely be discussed?
Pitt: The purpose of this forum is to convene local, state, national and global leaders from industry, academia and the public sector on the University of Pittsburgh’s campus to experience firsthand how Pitt, CMU, the city of Pittsburgh and other key stakeholders are advancing an intentional, place-making strategy to drive innovation, growth and long-term prosperity.
The forum will explore how emerging technologies — especially in AI, advanced computing and biomedical science — are reshaping health care, competitiveness and the global innovation economy.
UTimes: How do the missions of the Council on Competitiveness and the GFCC mesh for a summit of this nature?
Pitt: Focused on how to build sustainable, inclusive growth in communities across the U.S. the CoC’s work is deeply grounded in regional strengths and national priorities.
By holding these events side by side, we’re creating space for a dynamic conversation — connecting global trends to local actions and bringing together the people shaping innovation ecosystems at every level: from national governments to regional leaders, academic institutions and industry pioneers.
It’s a powerful convergence that reflects how innovation, competitiveness and economic transformation are increasingly interconnected across borders and sectors. This joint gathering also reflects the shared mission of both organizations — to catalyze solutions that are future-oriented, collaborative and grounded in real-world impact.
UTimes: What informs the Pitt-CMU collaboration regarding this event?
Pitt: It’s a powerful opportunity to align global trends with local strengths. Pitt and CMU are national leaders in research and application across digital health, robotics, clinical AI and bio-innovation. Breakthrough initiatives like Pitt BioForge, the Pitt Vijayalakshmi Innovation Center in Women’s Health Analytics and Research (VIHAR), and CMU’s cutting-edge work in human-AI collaboration and robotics reflect Pittsburgh’s evolution into a hub for translational, tech-enabled impact.
By bringing together thought leaders across sectors and across borders, the forum aims to:
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Showcase Pittsburgh’s model of place-based innovation, driven by research, commercialization and civic collaboration.
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Highlight cutting-edge breakthroughs in AI, personalized medicine and biomanufacturing.
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Build cross-sector partnerships to scale these innovations and amplify their social and economic impact.
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Connect regional leadership with global dialogue, helping shape strategies that are bold, collaborative and rooted in real-world problem-solving.
Ultimately, the forum is about more than ideas. It’s about creating the conditions for sustainable, inclusive, innovation-led growth at all levels.
UTimes: How are the summit participants chosen? What kind of programs will take place?
Pitt: The summit is an invitation-only gathering designed to convene a highly curated group of leaders from industry, academia, government, philanthropy and civil society, both from the United States and around the world. Attendees include CEOs, university presidents, senior scientists, policymakers, technologists and economic development leaders with a shared focus on innovation, competitiveness and the future of health and technology.
We’re inviting top executives from leading technology and health companies, senior officials from federal agencies, university presidents, and globally recognized innovators working at the forefront of AI, biomedicine, clinical transformation and economic development.
We are curating sessions that reflect a wide range of perspectives — from digital health and biomanufacturing to AI policy and place-based innovation — and will include keynotes, panels, breakout sessions and a high-level fireside chat with regional and national leadership.
UTimes: What makes Pitt and this moment in history particularly fertile for cutting-edge technological innovation?
Pitt: Pittsburgh is uniquely positioned to host a global innovation forum, not only because of its strengths and strong sense of place, but because of the active partnerships already driving innovation across the region.
As part of our Plan for Pitt 2028 ‘moonshots,’ we want to lead the life sciences century at the convergence of health, AI and technology. This year’s Global Innovation Summit is aligned toward advancing our Plan for Pitt 2028 outcome.
Shannon O. Wells is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu.
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