Events will seek to solve challenges such as scaling up equipment production
The European Commission is hosting and supporting several ‘hackathons’—problem-solving events in which participants work together competitively or collaboratively on defined tasks—to help governments, companies, civil society and individual innovators work together to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Commission’s own hackathon, called #EUvsVirus, will run from 24-26 April and will seek solutions to 20 challenges such as the fast production of equipment, scaling up production capabilities and information sharing between countries.
It is also providing €75,000 in prize money for a global hackathon on Covid-19, called The Global Hack, which is due to run on 9-12 April. At the global event, according to the Commission, “participants will develop their best and brightest ideas to address the ongoing socio-economic crisis and to support recovery in the aftermath”.