Combating the Coronavirus Pandemic and its Effects

April 29, 2020

Applications are still open for the Turkey COVID-19 Collaborative Platform (TR-COVID-19), an online startup acceleration program launched by Innocentrum Systematic Innovation Management Ltd. Co. The approximately three-week online startup acceleration program aims to bring together entrepreneurs, mentors, trainers, and relevant institutions/companies to support the resolution of short- and medium-term problems created by the COVID-19 pandemic. It also seeks to provide the necessary resources and/or establish collaborations to help ideas mature quickly and be implemented in a short time. Participation is free, and those wishing to apply must register on the online application system linked below and fill out the Idea Form. Before applying... Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section It is recommended to review this.

Priority areas for the ideas to be submitted:

· Stopping the Pandemic

· Health Services

· Economy and Production

· Education

· Art, Sports, Entertainment, Tourism

· Food and Agriculture

Social Life

Program launch presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Indd7pO3leA

The webinars that will be held as part of the program are: https://tr-covid19.com/#egitimler

Deadline for applications: Sunday, May 3, 2020.

Website: https://tr-covid19.com/

Online application system: http://covid19.innocentrum.com/covid19/#/login

Who can apply?

Anyone over the age of 18 who meets the following conditions (It is possible to apply to the program as a team, but all team members must register on the platform individually. It is possible to add teammates while filling out the Idea Form in the system.)

Having done sufficient work in both problem definition and solution development related to the idea for the application they will be submitting.
Having people with critical skills to develop their idea on the team they will build.

Priority areas:

Priority Area

Examples of Ideas

Stopping the Pandemic

Solutions that prevent or control the spread of the virus.
Developing and implementing process and service models for disadvantaged groups.
Developing innovative awareness and education campaigns.
Developing innovative diagnostic and treatment methods to ensure healthcare personnel are not affected.

Health Services

Home care, alert systems, and solutions for control and feedback loops related to healthcare services.
Developing business models to improve access to healthcare services for disadvantaged groups.
Solutions that will enable citizens to easily access healthcare services in emergency situations.
Solutions to enable hospitals to operate more efficiently and with less risk.
Solutions for health tourism, which has been significantly damaged by the pandemic.

Economy and Production

Innovative solutions to enable sectors and firms affected by the pandemic to continue their operations.
Innovative solutions to enable crowded venues to continue operating.
Innovative solutions for remote work.
Solutions for supply chain and logistics management.
Solutions to increase exports

Education

Innovative solutions for basic education, university education, and applied training.
Training programs aimed at educating young people and the unemployed about the changing working environment due to the pandemic.

Art, Sports, Entertainment, Tourism

Sports solutions affected by the pandemic.
Solutions for creating art and enabling artists to generate income during the pandemic.
Solutions to ensure the continuity of tourism services during the pandemic.

Food and Agriculture

Solutions for agricultural activities affected by the pandemic.
Solutions for food production, distribution, and sales during the pandemic.

Social Life

Innovative solutions to the physical, mental, and psychological problems caused by social isolation and staying at home.
Innovative ideas for combating online misinformation.
Cooperation-based social innovation ideas

Opportunities that participation in the program will provide:

The platform provides entrepreneurs who share their ideas with online resources to refine them. mentor support This will be provided, and entrepreneurs will be able to participate in various training programs throughout this process. These training programs will cover various dimensions of creativity and innovation, such as basic innovation, design thinking, problem-solving and creative thinking, and lean entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurs wishing to participate in calls organized by TÜBİTAK, Horizon 2020, KOSGEB, and Development Agencies will also be supported in their preparations.
On the other hand, entrepreneurs will be able to see each other's ideas and support each other with comments.
The ideas selected by the jury will be shared with the public and will be rewarded with financial or in-kind support from the program's sponsors.

Evaluation criteria:

Criterion	Explanation	Weight
The urgency, impact, and usefulness of the idea.	In general, and specifically regarding COVID-19, the benefits and impact on society in our country and worldwide, and the urgency of this solution.	%25
The feasibility of the idea	The solution can be implemented with the current level of knowledge, technology, and resources.	%20
The speed at which an idea is put into practice.	The goal is to keep the implementation time of the solution as short as possible.	%20
The idea has the potential for commercialization and scalability.	Are the costs involved in bringing the idea to life reasonable/feasible? Can the obstacles to commercializing the idea be overcome? Is there competition? Are there any barriers/regulations/prioritization, etc., to market entry?	%15
Competence of idea owners	How much knowledge, experience, and determination does the team have to implement the solution?	%15
Level of innovation of the idea	Is the idea new for the world, for the country, for the industry, or is it more advantageous compared to similar products?	%5