An interview about med360 with Andreas Falk, Managing Director at BioNanoNet Forschungsgesellschaft mbH.
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You are Managing Director at BNN. Could you provide us with a brief insight into your daily work?
That is correct, I am the managing director of BioNanoNet Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, in short: BNN. My medical-technical and business studies are the foundation for managing the company, which combines scientific competence with a strong network. As a research organization, we deal with technological developments together with our partners while adding safety and aspects of sustainability into our research and innovation-oriented work. In addition, we actively shape the national and European high-tech ecosystem by participating in work on strategic documents to achieve positive effects not only for society but also for the environment.
In addition, our activities include enabling knowledge exchange within our active network community, screening development trends, supporting the interaction between research groups, as well as participating in international research projects. All in all, these are complex activities in a multidisciplinary environment that require extensive expertise in the most current state of science.
With that regard, it is also crucial to be on top of medical publications. What are the options in general from your point of view?
In our line of work and when it comes to scientific work, being up-do-date is crucial. The traditional way is to network and attend conferences or search for information in scientific publication databases. At BNN, we share interesting publications within the team and our network. Nowadays, however, one must be somewhat critical, especially when it comes to online and social media reporting. That is why for those of us who take a scientific approach it is fundamental to have independent choices such as med360.
Since when and how often have you been using med360?
I have been using med360 regularly for about five years. The frequency depends on the work: whether I am writing a project proposal and looking for certain information or if I want to find out which new publications are available on a certain topic. I very often enter keywords to find out who has recently published. I consider that exciting since in addition I learn which expert has recently been particularly active in a certain field.
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Do you have a preferred time to use the app to find out which new publications have appeared on your subject area?
I usually open the app in the morning before breakfast while the tea is brewing and quickly get the general idea. A few minutes are sufficient. I might use med360 as an alternative to reading the newspaper, especially while in public transport. Using it on smart phones is very simple, swift and uncomplicated.
Why med360 rather than other Apps? What is the advantage for you?
The advantage for me is very clear: I do not have to search, I find.
Most of the time I use my smart phone, unless I want to take a closer look at a publication or the title particularly appeals to me. In that case, I sit down at my laptop later. Otherwise, you spend a long time using search engines and screening lots of useless things. The fact that the app is free of charge is an additional bonus, especially for a non-profit company like ours.
What do you read if it is not a medical publication?
Each day I browse through the news on Twitter or LinkedIn. I always find interesting contributions. However, they are mostly biased by the author’s opinion, and one should be careful. I deliberately no longer read newspaper reports since I prefer forming my own opinion based on real facts in scientific publications. In my free time, from time to time I choose crime novels or reference books on various topics.
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