A total of 117 innovative solutions to support recovery from the coronavirus outbreak have been selected as winners of the #EUvsVirus Hackathon that took place last weekend,under the patronage of Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth.
The winning solutions of the hackathon, which was led by the European Innovation Council in close collaboration with the EU Member States, fall under different domains, such as health and life, remote work and education, digital finance and more.
They include a data platform powered by artificial intelligence that connects hospitals needs with available suppliers and funds, remote queuing solutions for retailers ensuring social distancing to keep staff and customers safer, an experiential platform that allows parents, teachers and children to connect with peers, an original ‘business care’ system to help small and medium-sized businesses receive short-term financing to cover their liquidity needs and many other pioneering concepts.
Commissioner Gabriel, said: “The #EUvs Virus Hackathon brought together 141 nationalities and many different areas of expertise from across the EU and the world, united in their desire to offer their time, talent, and ideas to help find solutions to the coronavirus crisis. This was just the beginning. With the support of the European Innovation Council and all of the partners involved in the Hackathon, I am looking forward to the transformation of these fantastic ideas into real ventures for the benefit of all citizens.“
Over 20,900 people from across the EU and beyond took part in the #EUvsVirus Hackathon and 2,150 solutions were submitted. The winners come from various EU Member States and other countries, representing 141 countries in total. They include one winner for each of the six challenge domain areas, one from each of the 37 challenges and two runners-up for each challenge.
The list of winners and prize allocations is available here.
https://euvsvirus.org/results/
Some of the 1,200 partners have pledged a total of over €100,000 to date as cash prizes to the winners. In the next two weeks, the financing and resource needs of the winning teams to develop and scale their ideas, as well as the financing and resources that partners are willing to dedicate, will be gathered.
From 22 to 25 May, a ‘Matchathon’ event will take place to match the needs with available resources. Winning solutions will also be invited to join an EIC COVID Platform, which will be launched at the end of May, to facilitate connections with end users, such as hospitals, and provide access to investors, foundations and other funding opportunities from across the EU.
Johannes Bahrke –