On the 16^th September, PERISCOPE launched the first session of its Innovation Challenge.

The Innovation Challenge is an innovation workshop to ideate novel applications of digital technologies to prepare for and tackle future pandemics. It’s a digital workshop, in multiple small steps, running in the Fall 2022, during which participants will:

·         Envision future scenarios based on emergent socio-economic, cultural and technological forces;

·         Explore what possibilities digital technologies will enable in the future;

·         Ideate solutions to address future pandemic challenges, based on envisioned scenarios.

The Innovation Challenge is targeted to selected researchers, technologists, managers and students, such as partners coming from PERISCOPE’s sister projects.

The workshop focuses on AI and Blockchain because they have already been used to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, thanks to growing R&D investments, these systemic technologies will come to revolutionize most areas of economy and society, questioning old beliefs and shifting paradigms.

The launching session consisted of an ice-break activity where participants had the chance to present themselves and share how their life and work was affected by the pandemic.

PERISCOPE project was then briefly presented, followed by an introduction administered by the Garden of the Stockholm School of Economics, coordinator of the workshop, on the logic of the Challenge and some fundamentals about AI and Blockchain and scenario thinking.

At the end, participants were left with some interesting homework to do - start imagining a new solution to a possible next pandemic, that exploits new opportunities by AI and Blockchain and envisioning a future scenario where such solution is feasible and desirable.

Individual ideas will be then merged and strengthen in the next meeting, on October 7th, where participants will be divided into teams according to background diversity and alignment of ideas in order to define and submit a team proposal.

A jury of selected experts, including PERISCOPE scientists, academics and policy makers, will evaluate the originality and merit of submitted proposals and create a short-list.

On November 18^th, short-listed proposals will be invited to enhance and develop the solution further, based on the feedback received by the Jury, and apply innovation tools under the guidance of trained innovation advisors.

At the final event in December, the winning proposal will be announced as well its contribution to inspire future policy actions.

To get to know more and find out news and results about the upcoming sessions, follow PERISCOPE on social media:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/periscopeproject/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/periscope_project/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PER1SCOPE_EU