By Juan Andrés Vásquez, Executive Director of Ruta N
Today, we face a global situation that likely no human is unfamiliar with and will test every one of our abilities as a society to address the health, economic, and social challenges brought by COVID-19.
For most Colombians, this is the first time we are experiencing a pandemic, and every day we learn to adapt, work together to help each other, ensure everyone has economic and social support networks in these difficult times, and generate solutions for prevention, control, and treatment of the virus.
In this regard, Medellín doesn’t stay still. As a knowledge city, we are uniting all the capacities of science, technology, and innovation within the ecosystem. Together, we are working on creating applications and technological platforms based on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to develop bots that will help answer citizen helplines and assist with evaluation, registration, and follow-up.
Additionally, as a preventive measure, we are seeking spaces with minimum conditions to assist patients in case the city needs to expand its hospital network. Finally, we are working on the design, prototyping, and clinical testing of open-source and low-cost ventilators for patients who may face pulmonary complications due to COVID-19.
Furthermore, various companies in the city are organizing to adapt their plants to produce hand sanitizers and highly demanded medical supplies such as face masks and protective suits. These are just a few of the areas where the ecosystem has been pooling efforts, and where Ruta N plays a coordinating role. The academy, the private sector, and the public sector have proven to be incredibly strong when working together, something that has been materialized in Medellín for more than 15 years through the University-Business-State Committee (CUEE), and which, now more than ever, is crucial to defeating COVID-19.
This column was originally published in the ADN newspaper.
