Are you a start-up developing innovative technological solutions in Mental Health for older people dealing with anxiety?
Would you like to be in with a chance of winning a €1500 voucher to assist in the management and development of your start-up?
The older population (aged 65+) are vulnerable to mental health problems including anxiety disorders. Access to appropriate mental health care for this population is often constrained by long waiting lists and the costs involved. Innovative technological solutions may help to overcome this problem, but their availability, as well as research in the field, remains scarce. This highlights the need for more widespread research providing the ability to tailor effective interventions for this specific group.
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the IT4Anxiety EU Interreg NWE project are inviting start-ups that are developing innovative technological solutions targeting symptoms of anxiety in older people to apply to this Call.
This Call is open from 15th November 2021 to 31 January 2022.
What is the prize?
The winning start-up will receive a €1500 voucher to be spent on a course, workshop or mentoring scheme dedicated to any aspect of start-up management or development. In addition, they will be given the opportunity to apply to join the IT4Anxiety consortium (terms and conditions of which can be read here), a project that provides expertise in various areas to help start-ups develop their business.
What do you need to do to participate?
To participate you either have to email a video pitch to j.condell@ulster.ac.uk or fill in the following form at https://forms.gle/FyWzJKb9G2xcJNJu7.
The questions in the form will ask you to provide details about your start-up and technological solution, such as why you think your idea is innovative and how your solution fulfils the needs of older people dealing with anxiety. You should also share your motivation for wanting to join the IT4Anxiety project and highlight why we should choose your start-up and solution as the winning candidates.
For more information about this call please contact: k.amarti@vu.nl, m.ciharova@vu.nl or j.condell@ulster.ac.uk
Terms and conditions for the prizes: The winning start-up must be based in the Netherlands. Their solution must answer the abovementioned need and be currently in its final stages of development or near-complete development, i.e. allowing the scientific testing of the solution within the timeframe of the project on the target population, i.e., by June 2023. The winners will be chosen by a multidisciplinary committee based on the relevance, originality and feasibility of the solution, but also the maturity of the start-up team and how well the solution is aligned with the aims and objectives of the IT4Anxiety project.
