16th December 2020
Selected teams from across Europe pitched their solutions to healthcare challenges at the 2020 EIT Health Innovation Days (i-Days) Winners’ Event.
The teams were part of a larger cohort of students who participated in this year’s i-Days, an initiative which promotes health innovation among university students through dozens of one-to-two-day programmes.
Held at 31 academic institutions around Europe, through a mix of online and in-person events, over 1000 students were given an introduction to practical health innovation tools and competed in multidisciplinary teams to tackle real-life health challenges posed by EIT Health projects, local organisations and private corporations.
130 students from the local university-led competitions progressed on to the Winners’ Event, where they were each given access to learning opportunities, such as the EIT Health Summit Series, workshops and webinars ahead of the i-Days Final on 5 December 2020.
After undergoing a rigorous round of evaluations, ten teams were shortlisted for the finals, where they pitched live to an expert panel of judges. The promising innovators were scored on their assessment of the need, the novelty and projected impact of their solution, and how it can be implemented in a real-world setting. The teams were also marked on their ability to bring their vision to life through a narrative that presents the broader meaning and context surrounding their idea.
“The Winners’ Event showcased the amazing potential of the i-Days programme, bringing together 150 creative minds and seeing the incredible ideas and solutions the teams have developed. The range of healthcare challenges addressed was phenomenal, from protective clothing for construction workmen to sexual health education for children – and even a 90s Tamagotchi to teach children with diabetes about their condition. It is always a highlight to see the incredible outcomes of our i-Days and meet these inspirational young entrepreneurs,” said Emily Saunders, EIT Health Innovation Day Coordinator at Imperial College London.
The 2020 i-Days winners:
Gold Prize
MOVE Chrome Extension (Imperial College London). Solution: A Chrome extension to prompt users to take breaks.
Awarded €1000 in vouchers of their choice, an EIT Health Mentoring & Coaching Network (MCN) Voucher worth €2000, and support with an application for an Accelerator programme of their choice.
Silver Prize
Parolu (University of Barcelona) Solution: A sexual health education app for families.
Awarded an EIT Health MCN Voucher and support with an application for an Accelerator programme of their choice.
Bronze:
Diagotchi (Institute of Trandisciplinary Discoveries, Hungary). Solution: A Tamagotchi to teach children with diabetes about their condition.
Awarded an EIT Health MCN Voucher and support with an application for an Accelerator programme of their choice.
Fourth and fifth place went to Magic Light Beam (Asociata INIT with Freshblood) and ShiftIT (University of Zagreb), with each team awarded an EIT Health MCN voucher.
The audience prize went to Nomex (Lithuanian University of Health Sciences), who were also awarded a MCN Voucher.
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