Seton Hall Co-Hosts 6th United Nations General Assembly Digital Health Symposium with Maynooth University
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
Health care leaders, policymakers, academics and entrepreneurs gather in Bethany Hall for the 6th U.N. General Assembly Digital Health Symposium, Sept. 22-23.
Seton Hall University co-hosted the 6th United Nations General Assembly Digital Health Symposium (UNGA DHS) September 22-23, at Bethany Hall on its South Orange campus, welcoming an international group of health care leaders, policymakers, academics and entrepreneurs to explore digital innovation and new models of health care delivery.
The two-day program was presented in partnership with Ireland's Maynooth University, which leads the symposium annually during U.N. General Assembly Week. Nurse-led innovation was a prominent theme throughout the symposium, explored by Kristi Stinson, Ph.D., R.N., APN, PNAP, interim dean of Seton Hall's College of Nursing and a co-chair of the symposium. The School of Diplomacy and International Relations also contributed a keynote address on the opening day.
The event's theme, "Stay Left, Shift Left-10X," calls on health systems and governments to shift toward preventative care and technology-driven solutions that improve health outcomes.
Left to right: Martin Curley (Maynooth), Monika Suryavanshi (Care Strategix) and Kristi Stinson (Seton Hall), co-chairs of the 6th United Nations General Assembly Digital Health Symposium, with symposium coordinator Aislinn Gannon (Maynooth).
Martin Curley, professor at Maynooth University and co-chair of the symposium, said this framework requires more than incremental change in health care. "The goal is not merely digital transformation but health system transformation at scale," he said in a statement, adding that the approach aims to "deliver a tenfold improvement in healthcare outcomes, productivity, access and sustainability."
Stinson said the two days made clear both how far technology has come in improving healthcare outcomes and how much work remains. "Digital health care is here, but there is so much more to do," she said.
The symposium's U.N. Leadership Keynote featured Courtney Smith, Ph.D., dean of Seton Hall's School of Diplomacy and International Relations and Yanzhong Huang, Ph.D., director of the University's Center for Global Health Studies, discussing how the United Nations, through the Sustainable Development Goals and UNGA resolutions, can help drive change in global health.
"I would describe [the General Assembly] as indispensable, but imperfect," said Smith, who had watched the Assembly's opening address on livestream from his office before hurrying to the symposium.
Stinson also chaired the Day 1 strategic session on Nurse-Led Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The keynote came from College of Nursing alumna Margaret Farrell Daingerfield '77, Ed.D., R.N., C.N.E., president of the New Jersey State Nurses Association, who argued that nurses are uniquely positioned to drive change in health care because of their boots-on-the-ground contact with patients, families and doctors, pointing to color-coded IV lines and other health care products invented by nurse entrepreneurs. A leadership panel followed, led by Stinson and featuring nurse innovators and leaders.
The two-day program drew speakers from Italy, Germany, Norway, Sierra Leone, Nepal and Indonesia, among other countries. Mustapha Kabba, Ph.D., chief medical officer of Sierra Leone, stood out with an address on how digital innovation and an expanded health care workforce in his country have helped reduce infant and maternal mortality.
Second Degree Accelerated B.S.N. students, faculty and staff join Kristi Stinson, interim dean of the College of Nursing, at the event.
The symposium's second day included a demonstration from Zebra Technologies of a hands-free, AI-enabled digital tool designed to streamline time-consuming tasks such as clinical note-taking. For Seton Hall's Second Degree Accelerated B.S.N. students in attendance, what caught their attention most was its potential to speed up patient charting.
"That would be really useful for us going into the workforce, being able to really easily just dictate everything," said Sakshi Rani, who is graduating from the program in five weeks. "I think adding a tool like that would be beneficial to us when we're actually working."
The co-hosting of the symposium builds on a partnership between Seton Hall and Maynooth University, established through a 2025 Memorandum of Understanding supporting joint nursing education, research and student exchanges in digital health.
Categories: Health and Medicine, Nation and World
