SpArk is a center of excellence in movement science and technology. This new center dedicated to sport and performance is the result of a collaboration between the City of Sion and The Ark Foundation.
Officially launched in May 2022, Spark's objective is to exploit the potential of digitization in health, sport and performance. The new cluster aims to be a driving force for economic development in these fields, by promoting collaboration and networking between the best regional, national and international skills.
"The SpArk project is intended to be an engine for economic development mainly in the field of sport, performance and health. The vision is to bring together different expertises under the same roof in order to create, innovate and above all move towards the digitization of movement", explains Patrick Flaction, head of the SpArk project.
Initially, SpArk will be based in the Rue de l'Industrie 13 building. The center of excellence will then move to the heart of the Campus Pôle Santé in Sion by 2025, alongside the EPFL, the Haute Ecole de Santé and the Ark Foundation.
SpArk, a unifying force for movement sciences and technologies
SpArk stands as a meeting place for the best expertise in the fields of health, sport and performance. One of the strengths of this center of expertise rests on four pillars : medicine and sport, movement sciences, technological innovation, industrialization and start-ups. These different players will make up the innovative ecosystem that SpArk wishes to promote in this center dedicated to movement, sport and health.
"The City of Sion supports SpArk, as this project is fully in line with our strategy. Sion wishes to grow by focusing on innovation in the fields of the environment, energy, but also sport and health", explains Philippe Varone, President of Sion and President of SpArk Sport & Performance SA.
Innovative projects at launch
SpArk has already attracted some innovative projects since its launch. These include :
- Loxy, which seeks to democratize hypoxia in health and sports,
- Concussion, which establishes quantitative measurements and automated diagnoses following a concussion,
- O2Score, which studies the prevention of fatigue-related accidents in manual jobs and high-risk sports,
- SpArk Data Hub+, a care management platform for the health sector.
The development of new projects and digitization will be at the heart of SpArk's missions in the years to come.
