BU Spark! Launches Resiliency Challenge

The Resiliency Challenge is a nine-week, virtual hackathon, with three-week sprint challenges aimed at catalyzing student innovation in response to the unprecedented situation facing colleges and communities in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Our goal is to bring the talents of the university technology community together with subject matter experts to envision, design, develop, and deliver solutions to help communities, students, and colleges cope with the challenges of the current COVID-19 reality.

Students, faculty, and administrators are facing a range of challenges associated with the COVID-19 crisis. For example, some students are still scrambling to recover belongings left in dorms, while others are coping with social isolation issues if their roommates have returned home. Student government and clubs are figuring out how to sustain themselves remotely and performing and visual arts students are struggling alongside faculty to adapt to a virtual world while faculty consider how to proctor tens of thousands of remote exams.

The problems that COVID-19 has given rise to expand beyond universities and college campuses. Local government, elected officials, community organizations, and local residents have swung into action delivering daily updates about COVID-19, rapidly mobilizing resources and trying to match these resources to those most in need – from delivering food to the elderly and vulnerable, to educating the public about social distancing, to helping those recovering from addiction who are no longer able to reach their support network.

These are the realities we want to tackle with the Resiliency Challenge. We hope you join us!

Get Involved: www.theresiliencychallenge.io