The Education Department of the Regional Government of Castille-León creates the initiative #innovationagainstthevirus which aims to address the challenges of SARS-CoV-2 and its disease COVID-19. For this purpose, a platform and community have been created with the purpose of mitigating as much as possible the effects of the current alert situation and also, to help society to face this new health emergency scenario.

That is why we think it is very important to think about the kind of community that we want to from as soon as we get out on the streets.
This initiative is a call to innovation, creativity, and the hope of creating a different community that moves forward to the future

We are all facing the virus now and especially later.

#innovationagainstthevirus is an open and global initiative that supports the creation of a technological, social and innovative community of international impact which intends to help as much as possible to mitigate the effects of COVID-19.

This community is made up of Universities, Research Groups, Spin OFFs, Innovators, Startups, Corporations, Investors, Innovative SMEs, Public Institutions, Media, etc.. and all the institutions that want to work together in order to palliate the effects of of COVID-19.

There are two ways to participate:

* As an expert/mentor: specialists who wish to participate in the advice (scientific, technical, business, communication, legal, etc.) supporting the teams that will develop the innovative projects.  

The idea is that the experts/mentors will have some video calls within a week to 10 days with team members to help them improve through counseling.
Once this period has ended, the experts/mentors will proceed to the evaluation of the projects analyzing the viability, the technological and innovation degrees, its added value and the degree of communication of the project as well as the team that forms it.

Once this period has ended, the experts/mentors will proceed to the evaluation of the projects analyzing aspects such as: the originality and viability of the idea, the degree of technology and innovation, the problem that needs to be solved, the market and advantages over competitors, the added value, the business model and its scalability, and the degree of communication of the project, as well as the team that forms it.

In this way, 24 winning projects will be selected.

* As a project/idea: those contributions such as ideas, initiatives and/or specific projects (products/services) that add value to the initiative, will be considered.You can participate either individually or as a team.

The project/idea will be shown through a 3 min video pitch that must be uploaded during registrering, along with the details that define each project/idea. This video must respond to aspects such as: the originality and viability of the idea, the degree of technology and innovation, the problem that needs to be solved, the market and advantages over competitors, the added value, the business model and its scalability, and the degree of communication of the project, as well as the team that forms it.

We offer to each registered project/idea:

– Advice from renowned experts (technical, scientific, business, communication, legal, etc), through several video calls during the established period.
– To be part of a platform formed by universities, corporations, investors, accelerators, media, institutions, etc.
– Prizes for winning projects and participants.

Note: the ideas/projects are the property of the participants.

* Projects in idea phase (students, startups).

* R&D groups/SPIN OFFs.

* Innovative startups/SMEs.

This initiative has the following modalities of participation:

* Health/Healthcare: how we can help to reduce and prevent the negative effects of the virus on people.

* Social/Humanitarian: how the community can help to deal with isolation in the most enjoyable way possible.

* EdTech: how education is adapting to this situation with new technologies and digital resources to continue its work.

* New Businesses: how these problems can be improved or tackled through new companies and businesses.

* Media (powered by: Impulsa Visión – rtve): how these problems can be tackled through innovative projects in the audiovisual field, that are also of practical use in the current alarm period that we are living in.

* Sustainability/Water/Energy: projects and solutions, which can help to alleviate the effects derived from the virus in the areas of energy, sustainability and social impact.

* Rural (Agro-food, Tourism/Travel): this pandemic has further highlighted the importance of rural areas and businesses such as agro-food, etc, which also avoid the high population density of large cities.

* Autonomous Vehicle/Connectivity/Mobility (powered by: AEVAC): How to develop a smart, sustainable, and inclusive mobility model that respond to the challenges raised by the Covid-19 and future pandemics.

* Back to work (powered by: Airbus – BizLab): technological solutions that allow in an automated way to monitor and guarantee the health of the workers and the quick disinfection of the environment in offices and industrial environments. They must be autonomous solutions, not dependent on human action, and capable of being integrated into an IoT platform or any other data lake, ensuring as applicable, compliance with GDPR.

* Disability / Accessibility (powered by: Fundación ONCE): Do you have an innovative project that provides an improvement in the accessibility and living conditions of people with disabilities? You will have the evaluation of the Accessibility and Innovation Department of the ONCE Foundation

REGISTRATION FOR PROJECTS IS ALREADY CLOSED

DEADLINE FOR THE MENTORING PROCESS HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL MAY 6th.

* Exclusive Program Amazon Web Services: Amazon Web Services will provide the AWS Activate program to selected entrepreneurs/start-ups, with $5,000 in promotional credits for use for two years on AWS services, and $1,500 in promotional credits for use on premium technical support, and with exclusive access to third-party offerS.

* Genially Award: 3 anual PRO licenses and support for one of their creations will be given to the best 3 projects of the initiative.

* Netmentora Madrid Award: Offer a triple accompaniment, free of charge, to companies that pass their selection phase individual and expert by one of its business leaders for at least 2 years.

* Engag3d, Inc. Award ^(?): 

1. For ALL applicants get 3 months access to the Engag3d Start plan^(?) (valued at €1,600). The regular plan is €400 p.m. thereafter. This is on a 6 month plan.
2.For ALL Finalists get 6 months access to the Engag3d Start plan (valued at €2,800). The regular plan is €400 p.m. thereafter. This is on an annual plan.
3. For Winners (Top 3 or 5) will get 6 months access to the Engag3d Plus plan^(?) (valued at €9,050). The regular plan is €1,250 p.m. thereafter. This is on an annual plan.

* Startup Olé Award: The 25 projects selected by this initiative will receive a direct pass to startup OLE 2020, which includes the following services:

– Pitch competition.
– Stand at the fair.
– Possibility of being selected for the “matchmaking” activity, “1-to-1” meetings with corporations and investors.
– Other VIP activities such as access to cocktail-networking with investors, corporations, media, etc.

* Media Award: visibility for the winners, through interviews that will be published in the collaborating media.