42 innovative hackathon solutions to fight COVID19 and its consequences

Inspired by the #WirVsVirus Hackathon (15,000 participants in Germany) and HackCrisis (Poland), several Swiss organizations brought Switzerland together for the Swiss-wide virtual hackathon #VersusVirus on 3-5 April to develop fresh ideas and solutions in dealing with and against the coronavirus. During the 48h hackathon, 4’610 registered hackers from all over the world with a variety of backgrounds formed 611 teams and collaborated to find solutions for the selected 192 hackathon challenges in 14 topic areas.

The hackers were supported by 500 mentors and frequent “how to” sessions that were streamed live via Zoom and Youtube. One of the highlights of #VersusVirus was a live-interview with the Federal Council Alain Berset, who highlighted the importance of innovation and collaboration in current times and encouraged the participants in their hackathon activities.

Of the hackathon’s over 250 project submissions, a renowned jury chose 42 solutions that were considered the most impactful for tackling ongoing challenges. Among the chosen highlights are projects such as a platform where medical professionals can share their therapeutic experiences nationally and internationally with emphasis on patients with co-morbidities, a platform to connect all Swiss Arts and Culture projects that can be experienced online or Pandemia Parliament - a secure online space for politicians. All highlight projects can be viewed here. 

The selected 42 projects receive CHF 1000 in seed money. Additionally, all submitted projects can apply for monetary support of a CHF 250’000 grants fund and non-monetary support in forms of mentorships, access to technologies, presentation offers, memberships, and incubation programs.