The 2024 edition of the NOVA impACT! Challenges honoured two projects from the NOVA National School of Public Health (NOVA NSPH), called Sangue.PT and DentAR Kids.
The competition’s final, organised by the NOVA Impact Office, took place in the auditorium of the Rectory of NOVA University Lisbon, on a ‘Demo Day’ model. The programme was created in conjunction with Santander Universidades to give the academic community the opportunity to develop projects with an environmental or social impact that put knowledge and innovation at the service of society.
The jury decided to award two honourable mentions to two NOVA NSPH projects. The Sangue.PT project aims to develop an application for efficient blood management with the aim of reducing waste and increasing blood donations, encouraging donors through personalised appeals (based on geolocation) and the needs of the blood type. The digital platform also supports education and keeps medical records. The project team includes Ana Beatriz, Ana Silva, Elisa Bucho, Francisco Ferreira Pinto and Gonçalo Lobo, with the accompaniment and mentoring of Teresa Magalhães.
The DentAR solution, designed to resolve children’s fear of going to the dentist, involves an app to familiarise them with the procedures before appointments and augmented reality glasses during appointments to make the experience less frightening. The initiative improves the effectiveness of treatment, saves clinics time and materials, improves working conditions and provides a better overall experience and oral health for children. The team includes Amância Trindade, Mafalda Almeida and Carolina Santos.
The solutions presented by the teams can be quite varied – including apps, websites or a business plan – and must always be aligned with at least one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The winning teams received a prize of 2,000 euros each to continue developing their projects.
The jury includes Isabel Rocha (Vice-Rector for Research, Innovation and Value Creation at NOVA), Nuno Comando (Director of Entrepreneurship and Social Investment at Casa do Impacto), Bárbara Leão (Impact Investment Manager at 3XP Global) and Nuno Simões (Head of Santander Universidades).