The European Commission, in close collaboration with the EU member states, will host a pan-European hackathon to connect civil society, innovators, partners and investors across Europe in order to develop innovative solutions for coronavirus-related challenges.
euvsvirus.org is a Europe-wide online hackathon organized by the most plugged in and nationally connected actors from all over Europe. It builds upon already conducted national hackathons to enable the rapid execution of brilliant solutions.
The #EUvsVirus is a call to action to each and everyone to participate in the fight against COVID-19: Demonstrate unity and share your skills for the common good across borders and generations! Let’s digitally open EU-borders during this collective challenge!
Benefits
The European Commission, in close collaboration with all member States and the participating H2020 associated countries, will provide follow up to the best projects coming from the #EUvsVirus hackathon through the new European Innovation Council (EIC) Covid platform. Foundations, investors, health providers (e.g. hospitals) will also be part of the EIC Covid platform.
Challenge Domains
Health & Life
Address and scale a range of health initiatives, including hardware, supporting frontline health workers, scaling telemedicine, contact tracing/containment strategies. It should also address the fragmentation of current efforts. e.g., how to ensure that all countries can locally produce one ventilation machine instead of the 65+ open versions currently being designed/built?
- Protective equipment: Under this challenge, we aim at addressing critical issues such as:
- fast producing and scaling of protective materials/equipment for medical staff and patients;
- remaining safe for front line medical personnel - robots assisted tele-presence of medical staff in intensive care units
- fast production and scaling of FFP2-masks with a good quality
- fast check of the quality of masks
- ways to clean and reuse mouth masks and other disposables
- alternatives to mouth masks and other disposables
- low cost individual protection equipment that is easy to put and remove (ideally just one piece)
- crowd-production of equipment (knowledge acquisition, norms and standards, material available
- Ventilators/respirators: Under this challenge, we aim at addressing critical issues such as:
- build new medical ventilator with existing components from the aeronautics, automobile and diving industries to enable large-scale quick production
- easily fixing ventilators and respirators for medical use
- easily convert ventilators for medical use
- easily transport ventilators in optimal manner across Europe in the places most needed
- ventilation consumables and devices
- scaling respirators production
- coordination of open source ventilators (60 groups existing around the world)
- Protection of medical personnel: Under this challenge, we aim at addressing critical issues such as:
- automatic sterilization systems of ICUs, early and remote detection of infections
- early and remote detection of infections.
- remote contact of citizens with medical personnel
- proof of immunity for people with COVID-19 antibodies – e.g serological test that indicate that a person is not susceptible to COVID-19 and thus able to return into society safely for him/her and others.
- Real time communication & prevention: Under this challenge, we aim at addressing critical issues such as:
- real transfer knowledge, insights and experiences among hospitals
- treatment protocols transfer in real time among EU hospitals
- optimize the overall hospital agenda planning in a cost-effective approach
- anticipate and identify bottlenecks in the citation process
- remote medical assistance & preventive medicine via apps or remote consultations
- platform 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 (e.g. nr of masks per day & person, nr of persons per patient) using supply rate thinking (similar to military logistics operations)
- a "permanent observatory" to collect data on the behaviour and the habits of the population, in order to place preventive measures to reduce the risk of a new emergency.
- fast check of the quality of testing kits
- Cheap rapid tests: Under this challenge, we aim at addressing critical issues such as:
- development of fast, reliable and cheap test for COVID-19
- development of cheap and fast control tests for existing tests
- serological tests development and their fast validation
- Lack of skilled caregivers: Under this challenge, we aim at addressing critical issues such as:
- enable fast transport of caregivers to the needed areas
- fast education of volunteers who want to become caregivers in this crisis
- enable self caregiving where possible.
- Research: Under this challenge, we aim at addressing issues such as:
- mapping of covid literature with perspectives of tests/medication/vaccination development
- mapping of existing approaches (meta-narratives, for ex: support via vaccine, via prevention, via alternative medicines, etc.)
- mapping of solutions (environment map)
- creation of action plan to transfer learnings after crisis
- Other: e.g applications, methods, hardware relevant for this category. The above challenges are just suggestions. Feel empowered to get creative!
Business Continuity
Addresses the set of problems that businesses, especially start-ups and SMEs, are facing to stay afloat, collaborate effectively, restructure, re-profile or develop new more resilient business model and/or move online.
- Efficient team work: Under this challenge, we aim at addressing issues such as:
- improving productivity working at home
- improve communication
- tracking remote work
- teambuilding during remote work
- how to enable more wide-spread teleworking?
- New and resilient business models: Under this challenge, we aim at addressing issues such as:
- support in swiftly shifting production / service delivery to address the current needs (e.g. protective equipment)
- tools and new business models too allow the service sector (e.g. tourism and horeca) to keep providing value to customers
- easy tools to help start-ups and SMEs move online
- new business models or ideas which would consider other big crisis, while creating jobs to recover from the economic crisis created by Covid-19.
- quick and efficient job matching, to allow a match between rapidly changing jobs supply and demand, including for seasonal work and with priority for critical sectors (health, agriculture and food supply chain, etc.)
- use of open source platform for e-commerce for click-and-collect online commerce services for free to any small and medium businesses.
- Value chains & logistics: Under this challenge, we aim at addressing issues such as:
- reconfiguring value chains - quickly adapt businesses to position themselves in changing value chains, find new suppliers and customers in a changing economy
- logistics and value chains develop systems that allow users to better adapt their stock management and logistics to quickly adapt to changing demand and circumstances (e.g. border checks within the EU)
- Protecting employees: Under this challenge, we aim at addressing issues such as:
- systems to allow companies to re-think the deployment of their workforce, to ensure their safety and minimise physical contact while ensuring efficiency both during the transition period out of the crisis and in the medium term.
- quick and affordable disinfection systems for offices, shared spaces and public transport.
- easy decontamination of public spaces, offices, homes etc. (use of alternative methods; not only of classical disinfection liquids)
- Demonstrate purpose: Under this challenge, we aim at figuring out how to support response efforts and companies re-profiling by:
- shifting production to create medical equipment
- match find & fit a solution & challenge - develop tools to match developed harvest the solutions that are immediately available and scalable to be provided urgently to hospitals, and other relevant players, such as businesses, clusters, public authorities etc.
- European Industrial value chains analysis, reinforcing, flexibilization, redesign
- Upskilling and reskilling plans for an exit strategy
- Collaborative ways to speed up production processes
- 3D printing capabilities in Europe inventory
- How Smart Cities can fight COVID19
- Stay close to your customers: Under this challenge, we aim at figuring out how to help business to become digital. It should address also traditional (artisanal, local) and adjust their capabilities to stay in the market.
- Other: e.g applications, methods, hardware relevant for this category. The above challenges are just suggestions. Feel empowered to get creative!
Social & Political Cohesion
It is about supporting quarantined or self-isolated people to remain safe and sane. It also addresses and scale a range of social and political initiatives to support citizens as such, communities, democracy, EU values and fundamental rights. It would include an analysis of the socio-political and socio-economic impacts of governmental adopted measures, especially in vulnerable groups.
- Protection of isolated & risk groups: Under this challenge, we aim at addressing critical issues such as:
- protection of those helping - e.g remote medical controllers for personal health of those isolated, food delivery systems, cabin fever relieve, applications for reporting symptoms.
- support regarding economic issues - e.g. basics providing for those with no financial possibilities
- support regarding social issues - e.g. fast accommodation solutions for those in domestic conflicts distress.
- locating vulnerable population communities.
- mapping vulnerable people and their needs.
- connection of volunteers with vulnerable people to support their needs.
- apps for the public to inform themselves about the Covid situation and to report symptoms would also be useful.
- psychological distress relive
- Mitigating fake news spreading: Under this challenge, we aim at addressing critical issues such as:
- automatic systems for filtering fake news.
- automatic systems to inform authorities about the existence of fake news for its deletion.
- automatic system to inform citizens about the existence of a fake news.
- reliable source of information - where the public can inform themselves about the Covid situation (maybe also locally)
- Collection of data + central information/news
- Support arts & entertainment: With 30% of the world’s population under lockdown, we aim at addressing issues such as:
- restore citizen’s trust when attending future cultural events. This is a challenge post-lockdown, but worth to start thinking about how to ensure people will go again to museums, bars etc
- cultural agenda’ dissemination. Many cultural events are taking place virtually, but not everyone is aware of them. How to ensure it arrives to a great audience?
- formats of creative expression (e.g. for artists, musicians)
- Games
- Fight against crime: Under this challenge, we aim at addressing critical issues such as:
- identification of human trafficking victims affected by this crisis
- assistance to crime victims, especially in the context of domestic violence.
- Protection of citizens & democracy: Under this challenge, we aim at addressing critical issues such as:
- analysis of crisis impact in citizens’ wellbeing, with special focus on mental health and issuing of the clear recommendations.
- dealing with, and supporting lonely vulnerable people such as elderly, mentally fragile people, or people coming from a difficult socio-economic background.
- They do not always have access to Internet, not always have a family or friends they can rely on. What can be done to help, support and reach out to those people?
- Developing people-driven economies: Under this challenge, we aim at addressing issues such as:
- new economic models (crowdfunding, crowdsourcing, etc)
- alternative and quick response finance: pooling resources (money) from different contributors (citizens, SME's, foundations, governments, impact investors) to fund local solutions (match funding vehicles).
- new infrastructures (distributed networks, fablabs, third spaces, etc.)
- new governance model (collective decision making, co-decision)
- preparing the after-covid given habits changes due to increased level of autonomy (people had to learn to stay home, organize their time, etc)
- Other: The above challenges are just suggestions. Feel empowered to get creative!
Remote Working & Education
Many Europeans are confined to their homes and limited in the exercise of their personal freedoms. As time passes, many more will soon find themselves in the same situation. The way we all are affected by this unprecedented compression of personal freedom changes completely from a person to another: the size of the house where we live in, the infrastructure of our city, the quality of the health service, the sector of employment. How can we keep social bonds strong under this extraordinary pressure?
With these perspectives, the remote working needs to be addressed in a better, controllable and impactful way. For this reason we will need to combine ways and tools for efficiently shifting to online networks/online capacity building and training engines/ virtual connection?
- E-Learning methods & tools: Under this challenge, we aim at addressing issues related to:
- monitoring of students’ learning process
- examinations
- online interactions/ group learning
- data and privacy issues
- limited access to educational material
- Efficient remote working: Under this challenge, we aim at addressing issues related to:
- mental and physical health for teleworkers
- creating a healthy work environment at home
- Family life during remote working & education: Under this challenge, we aim at addressing issues related to:
- making a healthy comfortable work environment at home
- lack of meaningful social contacts with peers
- toddlers minding
- preschool children minding
- Primary and secondary school specific challenges: Under this challenge, we aim at addressing issues related to:
- Lack of access to technology and IT literacy.
- Assisting parents in taking over teachers’ role.
- Disproportionate learning outcomes after the lock down.
- Implementation of final examinations at national level.
- Ensuring access to warm meals for children from disadvantaged families.
- Organising online excursions.
- University specific challenges: Under this challenge, we aim at addressing issues related to:
- Open Sciences / Open Access / Open Equipment.
- Hands on / experiential learning.
- Transdisciplinary COVID research coordination.
- Students’ challenges: Under this challenge, we aim at addressing issues related to:
- Repayment of study loans
- Recuperation of student work
- Developing autonomous learning / support groups
- Other: The above challenges are just suggestions. Feel empowered to get creative!
Digital Finance
- Support identification of financial shortfalls: The challenge is meant to supporting short term identification and analysis of businesses’ financial shortfalls and needs, in particular for SMEs, through data analytics/open data;
- Speed-up access to financial support: The challenge is meant to find solutions to enabling speedy access to public financial support by SMEs, self-employed, citizens;
- Speed-up distribution of financial support: The challenge is meant to find solutions to quicker distribution of public financial support via digital money/transfers.
- Availability of emergency health insurance: The challenge is meant to find solutions to ensure an emergency Coronavirus health Insurance
- Enable crowd to help financially: The challenge is meant to crowdfund to support the fight against Coronavirus such as the provision of medical equipment to local hospitals.
- Support for digitally excluded: The challenge is meant to find solutions to provision of essential digital finance tools to the digitally excluded such as the elderly and homeless.
- Other: The above challenges are just suggestions. Feel empowered to get creative!
Other Topics
- Be creative! Any other challenge related to the COVID crisis, which can find a solution inside the pan-European hackathon. Feel empowered to get creative!
How can you help?
- As a problem solver: We welcome developers, designers, creative minds and all problem solvers with expertise in Health, Business, Social & Political Cohesion, Education, Digital Finance as well as other areas, and ideally experience in hackathons.
- As a mentor: We seek experts in the areas of Health, Business, Social & Political Cohesion, Education, Digital Finance and other areas who support the problem solvers with their inside view and experience. Besides, we need team coordinators who organise and coordinate the teams during the hackathon.
- As a partner: We appreciate all actors who want to make their unique contribution to the hackathon – companies, universities, public and private organisations, and networks.
