UBITECH is proud to announce its active participation in the AURORA project’s kick-off meeting, held on October 9th and 10th, 2024 in Kaunas, Lithuania. The AURORA project, officially launched on September 1st, 2024, is funded by the European Commission under Grant Agreement No. 101157643 and spans over 3.5 years (September 2024 – February 2028). This groundbreaking initiative aims to enhance resilience against public health risks driven by climate change in the EU’s Boreal Region, with a special focus on the Baltic countries.
AURORA, short for “Demonstrating trAnsformative solUtions to empower climate Resilience tOwards impRoved public health stAtus in the EU Boreal Region,” takes a holistic six-step approach to address health risks stemming from climate stressors. The project will focus on the following key areas: a) Monitoring climate stressors; b) Developing climate and epidemiological models; c) Generating forecasts through simulated scenarios; d) Identifying risks and vulnerabilities in the climate and geography of Baltic countries, as well as related health, well-being, and socio-economic stressors; e) Employing artificial intelligence (AI) for early warnings; and f) Recommending nature-based solutions and adaptations. The project’s innovative outputs are designed to empower policymakers, healthcare professionals, and local authorities in enhancing the resilience of cities, safeguarding public health systems, and developing more effective climate adaptation strategies.
In AURORA, UBITECH is at the forefront of delivering technological advancements, specifically through the implementation of the Simulation Engine. This powerful digital tool will play a pivotal role in executing simulation scenarios, which are critical to the AURORA initiative. The Simulation Engine, designed with cutting-edge machine learning and AI technologies, will integrate climate, epidemiological, and socio-economic models to assess vulnerabilities and risks in different regions.
The tool is built to simulate a wide range of epidemiological scenarios by configuring specific parameters, such as climate phenomena, epidemiological impacts, risk thresholds, and timelines. It provides users with predictive models that run in the background, offering valuable insights into the likelihood, severity, and potential outcomes of various health-related scenarios triggered by climate stressors. These insights will inform decision-making and help stakeholders, including policymakers, epidemiologists, and healthcare professionals, better prepare for the health impacts of climate change.
Beyond decision support, UBITECH’s Simulation Engine will also function as a vital training tool. By harnessing data from other modules within the AURORA platform, as well as aggregated data and metadata, the tool will help train embedded machine learning models. This approach prepares professionals for real-world health challenges posed by climate change, ensuring a proactive stance in risk mitigation and health management.
The effectiveness of the AURORA tools, including the Simulation Engine, will be demonstrated and validated in five major Baltic cities: Riga, Vilnius, Tallinn, Tampere, and Pori. Additionally, the results will be replicated in three other municipalities: Klaipeda, Jurmala, and Joniskis. Through these demonstrations, AURORA will showcase the critical role of AI-driven tools in safeguarding public health against climate change.
