EUTOPIA Open Innovation Challenge

The Open Innovation Challenge will connect students, academics and local partners in a creative environment in which they identify, explore, and develop concrete solutions to global urban problems through a challenge programme.

We will be looking for students from a range of disciplines to:

work in diverse groups to explore real life social and environmental challenges affecting our region and other regions in Europe and work with regional stakeholders to develop innovative solutions
be inspired by insights from experts from industry, universities, local government, charities and the wider community to explore solutions to local/global problems.
collaborate with students, academics and stakeholders in a European Innovation Challenge with five prestigious European universities, while developing your intercultural and employability skills

We will be looking for motivated students from diverse and multi-discipline backgrounds who are interested in exploring local challenges and have the following competences:

Curious: willingness to learn, share and open to new ideas
Interested in solving global issues
Creative and reliable
Strong communication skills
Work well in a multicultural environment
Willing to collaborate

We will recruit students from Warwick to work in teams on a global challenge between January and May 2021. Teams from all EUTOPIA alliance universities will then have their ideas judged in June 2021. The most successful teams from across the alliance will go on to compete for a final award and receive support and funding to develop their ideas further.

The full challenge programme will consist of three phases:

Discovery phase

Challenge phase

Implementation phase

Nov 2020 – March 2021

Stage 1: March – June 2021

Official challenge launch in Brussels (March)

Stage 2: June – Dec 21

Hackathon in Gothenburg (October)

Stage 3: Jan – June 2022

Final in Warwick (June)

June 2022 onwards