Do you have a challenge that needs a solution? Let us know!

Local governments, corporations, entrepreneurs, scientists, policy makers, service designers, developers etc are welcome to present their challenges until January 28. The challenges will then be presented to SMEs and start-ups that will start looking for solutions. The solutions’ incubation and piloting will be supported with 2 million euros.

What kind of challenges are expected?

Urban Tech challenges must meet two important criteria. First of all, the challenges should be solvable through technology and implementing the solutions should be performed in the conditions of the pilot programme (about six months to start using and developing the solutions, the total cost of the pilot project is up to 60 000€).

Secondly, the solutions must be connected with one of the project’s focus areas: green tech, health tech, mobility and smart city. The challenges can be of different maturity level, the project team will help to make these presentable during the competition and will make sure the right partners are found.

The challenges may relate to processes inside the company and their effectiveness, developing the company’s product portfolio, the company’s new challenges or strategic business directions. The wording of the challenge must be very clear so that it would be very easy to find the right match that will solve it.

To give a couple of examples – we are already working closely with two local governments who are looking for technical solutions that would improve their towns, e.g. planning public transportation, monitoring and keeping the streets clean, making the lighting solutions more effective, etc. Private sector has also presented their challenges – e.g. to find new additions to their product portfolio (developing new functions) or they want to make their inhouse processes more effective (such as managing documents and information).

What is the deadline and how to present your challenges?

The challenges can be presented until January 28, 2022. If you’d like to present your challenge or you have any questions, please contact kristiina.libe@tehnopol.ee.

About the project

During the project, about 300 challenges and problems (in three main focus fields: green tech, health tech, smart city). will be collected in eight partnering countries. The challenges will be divided into categories and the database of challenges will be changed into a Virtual Library, which is accessible in Urban Tech’s Open Space. Next, start-ups and SMEs will be invited to present their solutions to the collected challenges. After the challenges have been paired with solutions, 16 international hackatons will be held. As a result, potential working cooperations will be selected for challenge owners and solution providers who will then join an international incubation programme, which will be followed by piloting the solutions. The challenge owners have a unique opportunity to create new international contacts and receive solutions to their problems. The incubation and piloting of the solutions will be supported with 2 million euros.

The project received funding from the European Union’s science and innovation programme Horizon 2020 based on the grant contract no 101005301.