Join us as we develop innovative solutions to end tobacco use and beat cancer!

Tobacco consumption remains the largest and most preventable risk factor for Non Communicable Diseases which sadly includes most cancers. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has strained health systems, economies, and societies, causing disproportionately higher harm to people who already suffered from chronic diseases, many of them tobacco-induced.  That being said, it is crucial for the pandemic recovery to develop innovative solutions in order to reduce the burden of cancers,  cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, and a host of other chronic conditions caused by tobacco use. 

To identify and support the best practices to challenge the cancer crisis caused by tobacco use, ENSP (European Network For Smoking And Tobacco Prevention) is organizing a hackathon with the support of Activize Health and FreshBlood HealthTech which will look to define new and effective ideas to reduce tobacco use and beat cancer.

ENSP invites individuals or teams from universities, research centers, patient associations, start-ups, and other relevant stakeholders to register to “End tobacco use for beating cancer. International hackathon”  to collaborate and hack a challenge presented by the cancer crisis caused by tobacco use. 

End tobacco use for beating cancer is an International hackathon open to everyone and will take place online on December 3-4 2021 and will facilitate mentorship sessions with various experts on the critical role of innovation and health in order to build strong teams and develop sustainable solutions. Mentors will be available during the hackathon to provide expert insight on content, strategy and presentation techniques. The event will be fully virtual, targeting international participants and the teams can be made up of individuals from different countries or groups. Solo participants are also invited to register and will be matched with a team for the duration of the competition. 

All submissions will be carefully evaluated to measure projects for potential generated value and impact, in addition to considering the possibility to scale across regions and borders. At the end of the program the jury will select 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place projects.

Prizes

The prizes from ENSP for the best three ideas will be a total monetary of 3500 euro: 2000 euro to 1st prize; 1000 euro to second prize; 500 euro to the third prize. Moreover, the winning teams will have the opportunity to be invited to take part in the next ENSP projects and benefit from continuous guidance regarding their business idea. 

Registration

Registrations for the Hackathon can be made here for teams and here for individuals until December 1st 2021 – 23.59 CET after which the submissions will be evaluated and the organisers will contact the selected teams and individuals.

Programme

The programme is now available here.

*Tobacco and vaping industry representatives are not accepted to attend this event. The same rule applies to any entity or individual advancing their interests linked to the tobacco and vaping industry in a commercial or non-commercial manner. There is a fundamental and irreconcilable conflict between the tobacco industry’s interests and public health policy interests. (WHO-FCTC Art.5.3 – Guiding principles)