Chief Investigator/Head of Biosecurity Program
| Selected winner: | University of New South Wales, Sydney |
| Solution name: | EPIWATCH - Rapid Epidemic Intelligence & Early Warning Observatory |
| Origin of the winner: | Australia |
Established in 1949, University of New South Wales, Sydney (UNSW Sydney) is one of Australia’s leading research and teaching universities. UNSW Sydney is one of the founding members of the Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive universities, and of Universitas 21, a global network of research universities.
EPIWATCH - Rapid Epidemic Intelligence & Early Warning Observatory
EPIWATCH is a rapid epidemic intelligence and early warning observatory that monitors a wide variety of data generated around the world 24/7 through its AI-driven data collection including news casts, social platforms and medical reporting using 41 global languages as at present, more being added. It mines the vast array of un-curated, open-source global data, such as social media and news reports, which capture the concerns and discussions of the community. EPIWATCH uses algorithms, machine learning and AI technology to make sense of this data and to reveal potential early signals of epidemics, prior to official detection by health authorities.
The system would deliver a state-of-the-art epidemic intelligence and early warning capability featuring automated, intelligent systems for rapid epidemic detection with a suite of sophisticated, real-time risk analysis tools.
The system would be accessed through user web and mobile App platforms in addition to a large ‘live decision theatre’ of real-time epidemic intelligence, analytics, and communication with nodes in Australia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America, offering 24-hour ‘observatory’ capability.
The Challenge winners are solely responsible for their contributions and views. They do not necessarily reflect those of WHO. In no event shall WHO be responsible for the accuracy of information shared by any of the participants. These solutions were judged for their merits as novel, creative solutions but no specific technology assessment was applied, nor any endorsement in practice should be implied.