A jury of experts has now selected the five teams that will enter the finals of the Nordic Independent Living Challenge. They will compete for one million Norwegian kroner awarded to the best solution aimed at helping elderly and people with disabilities to live independently in their own home. During the spring of 2016, solutions will be tested in the Nordic capitals, including City of Helsinki.
Real challenge within the Nordic Countries
The five teams are solving a very real challenge. All the Nordic countries are facing a dramatic increase in people in need of solutions that can help them live independently and increase their quality of life. From 2015 to 2030, the share of elderly people (65+ years of age) will increase from 25 to 40 percent of the entire Nordic adult population.
– This is a crucial topic. The demographic forecasts speak for themselves, and we need to develop new solutions for both the increasing number of citizens in need of help and the municipalities responsible for providing it, says managing director of Nordic Innovation, Carina Christensen.
The challenge is largely the same throughout the Nordic region, which is why the five Nordic capital cities decided on a joint effort with Nordic Innovation. The challenge prize format, which is new on a Nordic level, was chosen to find a large variety of innovative ideas and solutions.
Carina Christensen (Photo by Nordic Innovation)
The five finalists
During the event held in Stockholm on 16 December 2015, the Nordic jury chose five finalists who will test their solutions in close collaboration with the five capital cities in the first half of 2016.
– We have been very impressed with the inspiration, innovation and the quality of the 25 teams that were presented at this stage. We are also happy with the overwhelming enthusiasm illustrated by the more than four hundred project ideas that were initially submitted when the competition was launched. It shows the vast potential for health and welfare innovation in the Nordic countries, says Nordic Innovation’s Mona Truelsen, project manager for the competition.
Among the finalists, there is one Finnish solution, Neighborhoods of Care (Nappi Naapuri). The service allows neighbors to care for the elderly and those nearby. The solution on is a map-based community-building service, which can be used via mobile phone or web. Through the service, the elderly are able, for example, to get assistance for their daily routines such as buying grocery or cleaning.
Other four finalists are Siren Smart Socks (temperature sensing socks preventing diabetic foot ulcers), AssiStep (rollator for the stairs), AbleOn ShowerSystem (shower aid) and Pilloxa (a smart pillbox).
Ran Ma, Project Manager of Siren Smart Socks (Photo by Nordic Innovation)
The winner of the Nordic Independent Living Challenge will be found in June 2016. The winner of the Challenge competition will receive the main prize of one million NOK. In addition, there will be a 200.000 NOK cross-Nordic collaboration award and a 100.000 NOK student award.
Watch the video from the information and pitching event in Stockholm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwN-U2bapDI
The Nordic capitals, Stockholm, Oslo, Reykjavik, Helsinki and Copenhagen, have launched the Nordic Independent Living Challenge together with Nordic Innovation to stimulate the development of new solutions that can make it possible for elderly and people with disabilities to live independently in their own home. Another aim of the competition is to make the everyday life easier and more efficient for care professionals.
Further information:
Kaisa Spilling
Development Manager
tel. +358 40 744 8831
kaisa.spilling(at)forumvirium.fi