Prepr and its network of partners are pleased to announce The Beyond COVID-19: Global Open Innovation Challenge. The open call that launches on April 30th will bring together students, startups, employees, and citizens to develop #BeyondCovid solutions in the areas of business, education, community, and prevention. To support the creation of meaningful and lasting solutions, this initiative will follow the Open Science Standard and all projects submitted will be open and accessible. 

This initiative is being launched in a consortium with over 20+ organizations, including Linux Foundation, AWS, Fasken, Grand Challenges Canada, Mitacs, MedStack, GODAN (Global Open Data Agriculture Network),  Singularity University Canada, University of Toronto, York University | Lassonde School of Engineering, Mohammed Bin Rashid Initiative for Global Prosperity among others. Collectively, these partners will be sharing the challenge with their communities and offering virtual workshops and webinars, as well as mentorship and prizes. Prepr has also directly committed $60,000 in resources and technology infrastructure to support launching and scaling this Open Challenge.

“This initiative is a call to action for individuals around the world to become global citizens and join forces to tackle the greatest challenges of our times and co-create impactful and innovative lasting solutions that carry us beyond Covid-19.” says Salar Chagpar, CEO & Chief Visioneer of Prepr. 

Recognizing that the post-pandemic world of work and learning will be fundamentally different than before, Prepr has developed four Open Labs, including Business, Education, Community, and Prevention. These also tie into the UN Sustainable Development Goals, that participants are being asked to consider in their project submission. Open Labs are virtual collaborative spaces accessible through the Prepr App for building teams, working on solutions, and discussing challenges. 

During the nearly six-week open challenge call, individuals and teams will be given access to key resources from Prepr’s PIE Solver Program, as well as webinars and other resources from partner organizations. This will facilitate the development of more refined and lasting solutions. Winning teams will be provided with additional resources to scale and commercialize their proposed solutions. 

More information on getting involved as a participant is here: 

https://prepr.org/Covid-19/

About Prepr: Prepr provides both the tools, resources and technology to empower individuals to become lifelong problem solvers. Through triangular cooperation between the public and private sectors as well as government, we aim to strengthen the collaboration on challenges that affect individuals, communities, businesses, and infrastructure, creating a more sustainable future for everyone.