The 9th CASSINI Hackathon: Space for Healthcare is here! 16-18 May
Ready to tackle global challenges and make a real impact?
We’re seeking innovators passionate about improving healthcare and public health. No space experience needed—just choose a challenge, use EU space tech, and compete for cash prizes up to 9,000€ (1st: 5,000€, 2nd: 3,000€, 3rd: 1,000€) plus 6 months of mentoring. Be sure to review the Rules of Contest before applying. Follow the steps below to join:
Challenge #
Monitoring Disease Outbreaks and Health Risks
Environmental and climate conditions influence public health, creating new risks or amplifying existing ones. Chronic conditions such as asthma, cardiovascular or kidney diseases, and respiratory illnesses are exacerbated by air pollution, extreme heat, and shifting weather patterns. Similarly, climate conditions can affect the prevalence of vector-borne diseases, like malaria and the development of viruses or pandemics. Space technologies provide a valuable resource to understand and address these issues.
This challenge calls on participants to develop products, devices, or services that leverage European space data, information and signals from Copernicus and Galileo or future services using IRIS2 to forecast and monitor health risks and disease outbreaks. We encourage participants to dive into the areas of:
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Health Risks Prediction and Mapping: Use Copernicus data to identify environmental factors, like air quality and heatwaves, that foster health risks and create risk maps and protection tools. Develop predictive models to forecast disease patterns based on climate trends, environmental changes, and population movement and behaviors.
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Disease Tracking and Outbreak: Identify hotspots for viruses and diseases like malaria by monitoring environmental changes and water body conditions.
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Consumer apps and tools: Create tools that combine satellite data and personal health metrics to guide mitigating health risks.
Challenge #
Smart Emergency Healthcare Delivery
Access to timely and effective healthcare is a cornerstone of a resilient society, yet many communities face significant challenges in receiving adequate medical care due to geographical, logistical, or situational barriers. Innovative solutions that harness space technologies can transform healthcare delivery, making it more accessible, efficient, and responsive to diverse needs.
This challenge tasks participants to develop products, devices, or services that leverage European space data, information and signals from Copernicus and Galileo or future services using IRIS2 to enhance healthcare delivery and services. Possible areas for development include:
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Remote medical delivery (Telemedicine): Utilize satellite communication to provide remote medical aid (consultations, diagnostics, treatment guidance and monitoring) from afar and improve patient care and engagement.
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Medical Services Delivery and Logistics: Create solutions to optimize the delivery of medical aid, supplies, vaccines especially to especially to hard-to-reach or health-crisis-affected (pandemics, natural disasters) regions. Utilize drones, autonomous vehicles on land or water for effective and timely delivery.
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Support Search and Rescue Operations: Leverage Galileo’s Search and Rescue (SAR) services to provide emergency medical aid to individuals in danger and develop tools to streamline the coordination between rescue teams and healthcare providers.
Challenge #
Mental Health and Well-Being
Mental health and well-being are crucial for a thriving society but are increasingly impacted by environmental factors like air quality, heatwaves, and urban noise levels. These stressors can exacerbate mental health challenges, affecting individuals and communities. Space technologies provide invaluable resources for understanding these impacts and offering actionable solutions to improve well-being.
This challenge tasks participants to develop products, devices, or services that leverage European space data, information and signals from Copernicus and Galileo or future services using IRIS2 to monitor, assess, and improve mental health and well-being. Possible areas for exploration include:
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Environmental Stress Monitoring: Use Copernicus environmental data to analyze factors like sunlight intensity, air pollution, extreme temperatures, and urban green space availability, to assess their effects on mental health.
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Personalized Well-Being Support: Design solutions that integrate environmental data with user-specific inputs to recommend daily activities tailored to individual preferences and needs.
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Urban Management and Planning: Develop solutions that integrate environmental and mental health indicators, enabling urban planners to create healthier living environments.
The hackathon locations
The 9th CASSINI Hackathon will take place simultaneously across 10 different locations on
16-18 May 2025. Discover the locations below!
Organised by:
The Austrian Space Forum
Innsbruck, Austria
Organised by:
Aarhus University
Aarhus, Denmark
Organised by:
Ultrahack
Vantaa, Finland
Organised by:
International Space University
Strasbourg, France
Organised by:
Vision Health Pioneers Incubator
Senftenberg, Germany
Organised by:
Envolve Entrepreneurship
Ioannina, Greece
Organised by:
Teseas
Bologna, Italy
Organised by:
Baltic Sandbox
Vilnius, Lithuania
Organised by:
Netaville
Skopje, North Macedonia
Organised by:
Institute of Excellence in Entrepreneurship (IdEA)
Bucharest, Romania
Earth observation
Copernicus
Copernicus is the European Union’s Earth observation programme, looking at our planet and its environment to benefit all European citizens. It offers information services that draw from satellite Earth Observation and in-situ (non-space) data.
Satellite navigation
Galileo
Galileo is Europe’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), providing improved positioning and timing information with significant positive implications for many European services and users.
EGNOS
The European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) is Europe’s regional satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) that is used to improve the performance of global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs).
Secure connectivity
IRIS2
The IRIS2 Satellite Constellation will offer enhanced communication capacities to governmental users and businesses, while ensuring high-speed internet broadband to cope with connectivity dead zones.
More info...
GOVSATCOM
The European Union Governmental Satellite Communications (GOVSATCOM) programme provides secure and cost-efficient communications capabilities to security and safety critical missions.
More info...
Space situational awareness
EU SST
The SSA initiative will provide Europe and its citizens with complete and accurate information on objects orbiting Earth, on the space environment and on threats coming from space.
More info...
The hackathon locations
The 9th CASSINI Hackathon will take place simultaneously across 10 different locations on
16-18 May 2025. Discover the locations below!