Led by the European Innovation Council and launched by the European Commission the hackathon is focused on problems that need short-term solutions concerning coronavirus crisis. The online brainstorming event covers areas such a: health and life, business continuity, remote working and education, social & political cohesion, digital finance. Besides, there is an open section for other challenges.
The category "health & life" addresses a range of health initiatives, including hardware, supporting front-line health workers, scaling telemedicine, contact tracing, and containment strategies. The innovators will also look for solutions for improving real-time communication in healthcare, protection of isolated and risk groups, fighting cybercrime.
In the hackathon, everybody can share skills for the common good
In the field of information and communication technologies in healthcare, #EUvsVIRUS aims at topics such as:
- treatment protocols transfer in real-time among EU hospitals,
- remote medical assistance & preventive medicine via apps or remote consultations,
- remote contact of citizens with medical personnel,
- platforms for the availability of necessary pharmaceuticals and their remote shipment,
- tools for prediction & stop the spreading diseases – e.g., tools to anticipate the development of infections,
- constant monitoring to collect data on the behaviour and the habits of the population in order to implement preventive measures to reduce the risk of a new emergency,
- apps for the public to inform themselves about the coronavirus and to report symptoms,
- cybersecurity solutions to protect hospitals, research centers, private companies, and individuals particularly vulnerable at this time to cyber threats.
Who can participate?
Everyone can join the hackathon. Register your attendance before 24 April on the website euvsvirus.org. You can contribute as a:
- Problem solver (team or individual): developers, designers, creative minds and all problem solvers with expertise in health, business, social & political cohesion, education, digital finance as well as other areas
- Mentor or team coordinator: experts in the fields of health, business, social & political cohesion, education, digital finance, etc. who support the problem solvers with their inside view and experience; team coordinators who organize and coordinate the teams during the hackathon
- Partner (corporate, university, civil society organization, public authority, SME, startup, accelerator): other actors who want to make their contribution to the hackathon.
All 27 EU Member States are taking part as well as Norway, Israel, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
Demonstrate unity, share your skills
The winning solutions will be invited to join a European Innovation Council Platform that will facilitate connections with end-users (e.g., hospitals) and provide access to investors, foundations, and other funding opportunities from across the European Commission. The Award Ceremony, live-streamed on the #EUvsVirus website, is planned on 1 May.
"This pan-European hackathon is an example of how Europe can come together in times of crisis. It's inspiring to witness this show of solidarity by our community of innovators. Our most talented minds will do their best to find solutions to coronavirus and support our citizens. This is European innovation in action," says Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education, and Youth, who is the patron of the event.
