• Aspire Academy presents innovation challenges targeting athlete well-being: stress management, dietary intake, and sleep tracker solutions.

Doha, Qatar: The Qatar Research, Development and Innovation (QRDI) Council’s flagship program, Qatar Open Innovation (QOI), has recently announced its Innovation Opportunities in collaboration with Aspire Academy.

Through Innovation Opportunities, QRDI Council has partnered with Aspire Academy, the leading sports institution for youth athlete development worldwide.

Mrs. Haya Al-Ghanim, RDI Program Director at QRDI Council, commented: “Embracing the QOI Program, we forge innovative alliances with our esteemed local partners in Qatar, kindling opportunities that align with the national aspirations of QRDI 2030. Our collaboration with Aspire Academy reverently centers around championing the holistic well-being of athletes.”

She commented on the three challenges from Aspire Academy, “Aspire Academy is presenting exciting innovation challenges this year, focusing on the well-being of athletes. The challenges include monitoring stress or emotional status, measuring dietary intake in self-service buffets, and implementing discrete sleep tracker devices for sports professionals. These opportunities provide startups and innovators a platform to address pressing challenges and collaborate with leading organizations. We encourage interested parties to visit the QRDI Portal to learn more and submit their proposals before the August 18 deadline.”

Aspire Academy is presenting exciting innovation challenges this year. The three challenges from Aspire Academy are as follows:

The first challenge is “Monitoring stress or emotional status of professional athletes.”  Aspire Academy invites proposals from Startups, SMEs, and Corporates for technologies that can monitor proxy measurements of stress and/or emotional status in professional athletes. Aspire Academy is looking for easy-to-use devices or wearables with software support to enable continuous monitoring of the physical status of athletes 24/7. The deadline to submit a proposal is open until August 18, 2023.

The second challenge is “Dietary intake measurement and assessment technologies for dining in self-service buffets.” Aspire Academy invites proposals from Startups, SMEs, and Corporates for technologies that can objectively measure and assess athletes' dietary intake. Aspire Academy is looking for innovative technologies that could measure and assess the macronutrient and energy profile of the food eaten by the athletes in the Aspire Academy´s buffet. The deadline to submit a proposal is open until August 18, 2023.

The third challenge is “Discrete, Accurate Sleep Tracker Devices for Sports Professionals.” Aspire Academy invites proposals from Startups, SMEs, and Corporates for technologies that can support the implementation of a discrete, unnoticeable wearable sleep monitoring device for professional athletes. Aspire Academy is looking for easy-to-use, minimally invasive devices with software support to enable fast, accurate, and objective assessment of the person’s (night) rest periods throughout the day. The deadline to submit a proposal is open until August 18, 2023.

The Qatar Open Innovation program has been the primary platform for startups and innovators to showcase their products and solutions that address the nation’s most pressing challenges in the five national priority areas of energy, health, resource sustainability, society, and digital technology, as outlined in the QRDI Strategy 2030, by identifying opportunities for innovation collaborations to drive economic prosperity. Future QOI calls will also meet the innovation needs of government entities. 

The QOI program has provided a unique opportunity for innovators to collaborate with leading organizations, industry experts, and mentors to develop and scale their ideas. The program has launched 21 innovation calls in collaboration with various partners in Qatar, including Sidra, Ooredoo, Hassad Food, Kahramaa, Milaha, the Ministry of Environment and climate change, and the Ministry of Municipality.

To learn more about the challenges Qatar Open Innovation tackled and submit your proposals, visit the QRDI Portal.

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About QRDI Council

Qatar Research, Development, and Innovation (QRDI) Council was established in 2018 to drive research, development, and innovation (RDI) efforts on a national level in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030 and the Second National Development Strategy (2018-2022). QRDI Council has developed a ten-year strategy, QRDI 2030, which seeks to create a locally empowered, globally connected RDI ecosystem, mobilizing leadership across government, academia, and industry, to transform Qatar’s social and economic future. QRDI Council members include prominent national and international figures from various government and academic entities and industry experts. 

For media-related inquiries, don’t hesitate to get in touch with QRDI at: qrdi@qrdi.org.qa

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