Columbia Global Centers, Mumbai invites startups to apply for Urban Works Innovation Challenge 2020-2021

Columbia Global Centers, Mumbai has announced the launch of the Urban Works Innovation Challenge 2020-2021, inviting passionate innovators and startups with tech-enabled solutions to participate in transforming our cities into sustainable, safe and resilient workplaces, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The challenge, which is part of a three-year program inaugurated in 2018 and supported by the RMZ Foundation, gives young innovators a globally competitive opportunity to refine their solutions for some of India's most pressing social challenges and gain from tools, learning sessions and peer networks. Selected startups receive mentorship from faculty and alumni of Columbia University's prestigious Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, as well as from distinguished entrepreneurs and academics in India. They can also avail of unrestricted capital from a total annual fund of Rs. 1 crore, and teams with successful design prototypes will have the opportunity to pitch to leading corporations and investors.

Speaking about the inspiration behind this initiative, Urban Works mentor Michael Massimino, Former NASA Astronaut and Professor of Mechcal Engineering at Columbia University, noted, "Our planet is beautiful and fragile; it is the only place we have. We need to protect our cities and make them more sustainable and safer to live - this has been the focus of Urban Works."

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Urban India is plagued by issues including degrading air quality, rising plastic waste, hindered mobility, mental health problems, and reduced safety for women. The COVID-19 pandemic has further disrupted urban life dramatically, exposing vulnerabilities and risks in the functioning of our cities. In this evolving landscape, we need to ask ourselves which technological innovations can help cities adapt to the new normal, and how can we make our cities resilient? According to Dr Ravina Aggarwal, Director Columbia Global Centers | Mumbai, "The COVID-19 pandemic has provided the impetus to really rethink the digital and virtual space, and how we can use this as an opportunity to be of essential service to the country."

The 2020-2021 challenge focuses on designing app-based, IT-enabled, online solutions that span diverse industries and socio-economic geographies for cities in crisis. Broad areas for solution development include green technologies, decentralized energy-efficient solutions, sustainable resource use, waste management, accessibility, health and wellbeing, and gender security. Interested startups, professionals, entrepreneurs and researchers are invited to submit their applications by March 21, 2021.

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Columbia Engineering, based in New York City, is one of the top engineering schools in the U.S. and one of the oldest in the nation. Also known as The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, the School expands knowledge and advances technology through the pioneering research of its more than 250 faculty, while educating undergraduate and graduate students in a collaborative environment to become leaders informed by a firm foundation in engineering.

The School's faculty is at the centre of the University's cross-disciplinary research, contributing to the Data Science Institute, Earth Institute, Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Precision Medicine Initiative, and the Columbia Nano Initiative. Guided by its strategic vision, "Columbia Engineering for Humty", the School aims to translate ideas into innovations that foster a sustainable, healthy, secure, connected, and creative humty.

Columbia Global Centers | Mumbai is one of Columbia University's nine global centers that serves as a research, education, and knowledge hub for promoting new and informed ways of addressing global challenges. The Center conducts innovative and interdisciplinary research, designs educational opportunities for students and professionals, and disseminates research to wider publics in academia, government, civil society, and the private sector. By connecting the University's world-class scholars and students with peers from the region, the Mumbai Center works to deepen the knowledge that can transform society.

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( With inputs from ANI )