S3E Reverse launches new Open Call for Solvers

This open call comprises the second step of the REVERSE Programme, where SMEs and Scale-ups acting as Solvers, will address and suggest solutions to the challenges and/or problems that the Challenge organisations face in their operations. All these solutions will also help the organisations comply with the UN SDG and create a more sustainable business and ultimately a better world.

Once solvers start to respond to the call, the independent selected experts as deep tech brokers will facilitate the matchmaking process between the “challenge organisations” and the “challenge solvers” of this second phase. The selected SMEs and scale-ups (The Solvers) will benefit from a customised innovation support program designed specifically for them and the coaching and technology brokerage services they will receive. The programme will operate on a First come – First Served for the start-ups/SMEs so when a match is identified the challenge provider organisation, and the solver can start working together immediately.

The Challenges

• Collaborative Intelligence in the Service of Humanity
  • Solution needed: How can AI be designed to prioritise collaborative intelligence and effectively address human needs? Are there concrete use cases? The solution will need to demonstrate how AI can addressing specific human/business needs in various sectors (e.g. healthcare, agriculture), focusing on the collaborative intelligence aspect of AI.
• Route Optimisation for Meter Reading Collection
  • Solution needed: Water meter routes currently lack geographical optimization. Considering traffic patterns and existing route parameters, can you develop a route optimisation tool for cost and time efficiency using geographical and network analysis?
• Reduction of Free Melamine Content in Wastewater
  • Solution needed: Due to melamine’s carcinogenic classification, how can free melamine be removed from wastewater from processes like decorative paper impregnation? To tackle this challenge, you need to develop a competitive, industrially-applicable, and scalable solution to remove free melamine from wastewater without impacting current production processes.
• Improving User Experience for Data Protection and Privacy
  • Solution needed: How can users have more control over health data usage, enhancing trust in data sharing for research? Help us design user-friendly and secure solutions giving citizens and patients greater control over their health data; consider routine and research workflows.
• Weather Radar Interference
  • Solution needed: 3DSA’s weather radars are experiencing interference from wireless communication devices operating on the same frequencies. This disrupts weather monitoring, potentially impacting storm tracking and warnings. They need solutions or technologies that can mitigate or filter severe interference on weather radar output, while maintaining accuracy in detecting precipitation and storm behaviour.
• Integrating collaborative robots into various facets of the food production industry
  • Solution needed: Address the integration of collaborative robots (cobots) in the food production industry focusing on hygiene, safety, adaptability, human collaboration, quality control, traceability, sustainability, and resource efficiency. They’re looking for innovations in cobot technologies that enhance food safety, adapt to diverse environments, facilitate human-robot collaboration, ensure product quality, and promote sustainability.

The benefits of participating in S3E Reverse

• Why a brokerage program?
  • Both the private and the public sector are facing countless challenges that could be addressed through deep tech open innovation. On the other hand, there are so many teams, entrepreneurs, and start-ups that although they have worked and developed wonderful innovative solutions, they cannot find their way to the market, or they fail to focus on the actual problems because simply they are not able to identify them. There is a clear gap of communication and collaboration between the organisations that must respond to specific deep tech challenges and those companies that could help address them.
  • S3E Reverse has a twofold objective. First to collect challenges from corporates and public organisations and secondly to invite innovative SMEs and start-ups to contribute with Deep Tech based solutions to address those challenges. The aim of the brokerage program is to bridge this gap and match the challenge organisations with the most appropriate start-ups and SMEs that can provide solutions and address these challenges.
• What’s in it for the Solvers?
  • Solver organisations (SMEs, mature Start-ups, scale-ups) will apply to S3E REVERSE Open Calls to present a Deep Tech Solution to a submitted challenge that will help the challenge organisation solve the problem in need of a deep tech approach and which impacts to the attainment of at least one of the SDGs.
  • The selected Solver organisations will work with the Tech Brokers to better define their Solution to a challenge and develop a solid technical roadmap that will devise the path towards a viable solution.
  • Through the technology brokerage process both the Challenge and the Solver organisations will be able to match a problem with a potential solution by means of a collaborative and co-creation approach.
  • Moreover, the program will help organisations to team up with innovative scale-ups to partner in a common proposal under Horizon Europe calls for Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) or Public Procurement for Innovative Solutions (PPIs) or other opportunities that may improve the capacity of both
• How else can Solvers benefit?
  • In addition to the technology brokerage, solvers will be able to benefit from a portfolio of appropriate services which will be customised to their specific case by their tech broker:
    • Innovation Readiness Assessment: a Selff-assessment of the solver that will help the company identify weak points or problems in their growth. The Technology brokers can then suggest specific actions that can help the solver improve their operations.
    • Webinars, access to the webinars of Tracks 1 & 2, on diverse topics pertinent to the development of the relevant skills (e.g., intellectual property, financials, business development, venture funding.). Note: a total of six webinars (one hours long) will be held.
    • Networking with industry leaders and showcase opportunities at the S3E Open day and in collaboration with other programmes and initiatives.
    • Gaining market traction by being connected to larger companies and potential customers or test-beds.

Eligible Countries

• South European countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain.
• Associated countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Kosovo and Turkey.

Eligibility Criteria

• S3E Reverse is launching its first open call for applications for Solvers: start-ups and SMEs with deep tech solutions to overcome the challenges.
• Any kind of SME can participate as long as it meets the following criteria:
  • Is established in any country of the Southern European science-based innovation ecosystem is eligible for the Horizon Europe program including associated countries
  • Is capable of addressing a challenge that has been submitted as part of the conducted open call for Challenges and which is related to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
  • Can justify the development and/or deployment of a Deep Tech solution.

For more information, visit Southern European Entrepreneurship Engine.