PANAJI: Goa State Innovation Council (GSInC) on Friday, launched ‘IDEATHON’ 2021, inviting ideas for affordable technology innovations in the healthcare sector.
The comprehensive event would allow participants to give form to their ideas, prototype their technology at the GSInC prototyping lab, seek mentorship support from experts in the field and connect with industry stalwarts, according to a press communique.
The six-week long contest would culminate on July 30. The IDEATHON participants have until July 5 to submit their innovative ideas and technologies. Participants can send their entries online at:
www.goastateinnovationcouncil.com/ideathon-healthcare
Open for students, innovators, entrepreneurs and professionals from the state; the IDEATHON contest would seek innovative ideas having the potential to provide access to cost-effective healthcare options to the people of Goa.
“The ongoing pandemic has revealed several lacunas in the global healthcare system. Ensuring swift, effective and affordable healthcare access for the people is of paramount importance. The thought behind organising the IDEATHON is to harvest ground-breaking technology innovations that could enrich the state’s healthcare system. The Goa State Innovation Council has always been at the forefront of identifying and nurturing innovative ideas across fields and spheres. We are excited to source ideas from a wide spectrum of individuals, including students and start-ups,” said Jose Manuel Noronha, Chairman, GSInC.
Conceptualised to foster innovation while offering a workshop-like experience to the participants, the IDEATHON offers handholding support to the contestants in the following ways:
• Access to the prototyping lab
• Mentoring by tech-based incubators
• Connect with mentors
• Networking opportunity with industry experts
• Training & workshops Knowledge sessions
The objective of IDEATHON goes beyond scouting ideas to include nurturing and scaling promising technology innovations into successful business entities. GSInC has collaborated with BITS BIRAC for offering insights on healthcare technologies, the leading incubator, FiiRE, for business and commercialisation guidance, and Coin Medix Pvt. Ltd. for technical mentoring.
Besides dedicated mentoring and industry connect opportunities, the winning entries can win cash prizes, too. The first prize is Rs 20,000 and the second prize is Rs 10,000. Also, there are five ‘encouragement’ prizes of Rs 5,000 each.
A jury of distinguished leaders, experts and professionals will examine the entries, and the select ideas will get an opportunity to present the business pitch. The submitted ideas will be evaluated based on; a) Problem Identification & Ideation, b) Innovation, and c) Sustainability.
