The research centre of excellence, RISE and the team of HackCyprus ran a Digital Hackathon, #HackTheCrisisCyprus from the 3rd to the 5th of April, 2020. The hackathon was organized under the auspices of the Digital Champion, Dr. Stelios Chimonas and the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy (Cyprus). Inspired by the Estonian example and many other countries around the globe that followed suit, #HackTheCrisisCyprus was created in an effort to help find solutions to problems created by the coronavirus pandemic.
The event was a great success with more than 3000 viewers for the opening ceremony, 200 participants, 18 teams and people joining in from 13 different time zones.
During the hackathon 16 prototypes were developed and submitted by the teams participating which tackle issues from the below themes:
| Save lives | Save Communities | Save Businesses | Save Mental Well-Being |
| Healthcare officials together with the government are working on better solutions to respond to the current problems caused by Covid-19. What could be done next to improve healthcare infrastructure in Cyprus? | Communities are unable to come together the way they used to. Movement restrictions and social distancing are changing our daily lives and the ways in which we interact with each other. | Businesses in Cyprus are already facing unprecedented challenges. Can we collaborate across the sectors and find new ways to save our local businesses? | An issue that we don’t easily talk about but very important nevertheless. Loneliness and depression at any age is difficult to tackle.How do we reach out to people bound at home and alone? |
RISE would like to congratulate the teams once more for all their hard work as well as parties involved in making this hackathon a success. The prototypes developed during the HackthecricisCyprus Hackathon are showcased below. If you identify an idea that can be implemented by your organization please contact us at innovation@rise.org.cy.
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This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 739578
This project has received funding from the Government of the Republic of Cyprus through the Directorate General for European Programmes, Coordination and Development