CBS researcher develops platform with DIY solutions for Ukrainian war victims
“We’d already seen how our platform helps share knowledge on patient-innovated devices that have actually saved lives. And then we thought – hey, this kind of multi-page platform might be useful in other types of emergencies such as in wartime and could increase preparedness and resilience,” says Pedro Oliveira, CBS Professor. (Photo by Ida Eriksen)
People are often more innovative than they give themselves credit for, according to CBS researcher Pedro Oliveira. And so he has developed a platform that invites everyone to share their ideas on how to help Ukrainian war victims in their dire situation. The DIY solutions include how to make a phone charger out of a wireless drill, and how to help secure shelter for the many refugees.
News | 20. Apr 2022
When war breaks out, you need all the help you can get. And with the platform called Patient-innovation.com/helpukraine, giving and receiving help just became easier.
Learn how to make a phone charger out of nothing more than a wireless drill, string and a fork. Find out what to pack when you are fleeing your home and how to use a portal to locate people stranded in Ukraine. It is all there.
“We’ve created a platform where people from all over the world can share their solutions to problems caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Adversity is the mother of invention,” says Pedro Oliveira, a Professor with special responsibilities at the Department of Strategy and Innovation.
Together with patients, medical practitioners, and experts from all over the world, he developed the already existing non-profit platform for health-care solutions Patient-innovation.com and recently added the sister site that provides assistance for Ukrainian war victims.
“We’d already seen how our platform helps share knowledge on patient-innovated devices that have actually saved lives. And then we thought – hey, this kind of multi-page platform might be useful in other types of emergencies such as in wartime and could increase preparedness and resilience,” Pedro Oliveira elaborates.
So far, the platform has already helped several Ukrainian refugees to find accommodation by linking them up with people with room to spare both in Ukraine and other European countries.
“Several members of my own family have used our platform to make their homes available to Ukrainian refugees. We’ve also had some feedback from Ukrainians saying that they used our platform to find shelter, or that they have used some of the hacks suggested. So, in this respect, our platform is working,” says Pedro Oliveira.
Born from the need to help
Everyone can contribute to the platform, and if the team discovers a suitable solution, they write about it in both English and Ukrainian.
“The screening process is simple. We focus most on checking medical advice with experts before publishing. We also refrain from writing about how to make weapons such as Molotov cocktails, as we focus on humanitarian aid,” the CBS professor explains.
The urge to help Ukrainians in their time of crisis was what prompted Pedro Oliveira to make the sister site for Patient-innovation.com.
“We are all just living our lives while people so close to us are fleeing from war. It is a very terrible and strange situation, and I never thought I would experience anything like this. Just like everyone else, I wanted to do something to help. So, I thought this platform could be my way of helping. A small contribution in this dreadful situation,” he concludes.
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