The fight against covid-19 will rely on the pace of innovation, and the measure of collaboration in both private- and public-sectors. Already innovative breakthroughs have played a critical part in slowing the virus' spread. American carmaker Tesla used blueprints shared by Irish device company Medtronic to produce much-needed ventilators instead of engines and autobodies. Senegal's Institut Pasteur worked with British biotechnology firm Mologic to develop rapid test kits which will be manufactured and used across Africa. And in America, tech giants such as Amazon and IBM have joined forces with NASA to lend supercomputing power to researchers and scientists around the world.

Partnerships like these and countless others rely heavily on digital infrastructure and connectivity to work together - whether to share processing power or speedily transfer data, information or new insights. Their progress will likely be the difference between a quick return to normal or a long, painful and drawn out fight against covid-19.

How can companies and governments, regardless of their physical borders, leverage technology to enhance collaboration in the fight against covid-19? What is the role of regulators and governments in fostering cross-border digital collaboration? What new and innovative technologies will reshape international collaboration in the years to come?

Join The Economist Events for Unleashing innovation through collaboration, a new virtual discussion to consider how tech-enabled partnerships can spur scientific, social, technological and economic progress.

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Antony Walker

Deputy chief executive officer, techUK

Susan Athey

The economics of technology professor, senior fellow, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research

Martina Szabo

Lead, World Economic Forum’s COVID Action Platform

Andy Purdy

Chief security officer, Huawei Technologies USA

Simon Cox

Emerging markets editor, The Economist


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