Open call for the new edition of SmartCatalonia Challenge

Open call for the 7th edition of the innovation competition SmartCatalonia Challenge, promoted by the Secretariat for Digital Policies of the Generalitat of Catalonia.

This year’s competition of the SmartCatalonia Challenge, which has been prepared in cooperation with the Catalan Water Agency (ACA), sets out 4 challenges related to the Catalan water ecosystem which are susceptible to be solved by innovative solutions based on ICT.

The initiative encourages the participation of Catalan start-ups and SMEs capable of offering an innovative, viable, and adapted solution to one (or more) of the proposed calls:

• Challenge 1 – Water’s optimization in agriculture: how to get efficient water management to increase the availability of water.
• Challenge 2 – Optimal maintenance of the water flow: how to improve efficiency in the control of water use and ensure optimal river flows at all times.
• Challenge 3 – Treatment of pollutants: how to help to identify, trace, reduce, and treat pollutants in water systems.
• Challenge 4 – Promote renewable energies: how to calculate and encourage using energy from renewable sources.

The presentation, in telematic format, was chaired by Dani Marco, Director of Innovation and the Digital Economy, and Lluís Ridao, Director of the Catalan Water Agency.

The deadline for submitting proposals is January 8, 2021. From then on, a jury will pre-select the top ten proposals, which will compete live in the Finale scheduled for January 28.

Join the Challenge! Awards are waiting for the best ideas!

The three winning proposals will receive cash prizes for a total value of 20,000 €, and the winning solution will have the opportunity to perform a pilot test.

Awards:

Best solution award: 15.000 € + Pilot of the solution
Second prize: 5.000 €
Third prize: 3.000 €

Challenges presentation

• October, 13th
• 11h – 12:30h
• Virtual presentation: https://cutt.ly/Tf6ZZ1w

This new edition comes only two weeks after the Finale of the 6^th edition of the SmartCatalonia Challenge with ARCA, the Association of Rural Initiatives of Catalonia. With 5 challenges to solve with an ICT solution, 4 innovative ideas were selected:

• 1st place – Shotl: a software that allows transport-on-demand.
• 2nd place – Easy2bwise: an app to capture and manage rural’s generational replacement.
• 3rd place – STAT-ON: a solution that allows remote monitoring of Parkinson’s patients.
• Extraordinary prize – Volta: a platform for the local economy.

The winners have received cash prizes up to 20.000 € and Shotl has the opportunity to perform a pilot test with ARCA. Volta has won an extraordinary prize of 8.000 € and a pilot test with the Associació Catalana de Municipis and the Associació de Micropobles of Catalonia.

You can see the Finale here