Liftoff PGH 2020 Changes Course for December 15-16

When Liftoff PGH was just a whisper of an idea, we never imagined how reality would collide with its mission.At its core, Liftoff PGH is about inspiring unusual partnerships that challenge the very structure of the healthcare industry. Despite the distance between us, in two weeks the Pittsburgh community has connected with one another in unprecedented ways. Organizations are rebuilding their entire business model, while researchers, entrepreneurs, and policymakers are designing new paradigms of care from the ground up. As the community rushes to respond, there is a stunning obligation to change, and change now. Our team continues to line up a knockout cast of experts and contributors, but we have made the difficult decision to postpone Liftoff PGH 2020 until December 15th-16th.

With all the challenges ahead, we can think of no clearer visionary than Liftoff PGH Keynote Speaker Shankar Vedantam to make sense of this chaos. For the NPR enthusiasts among you, Vedantam hosts the extremely popular Hidden Brain podcast, in which he rethinks how we as humans, well, think. From dissecting hiring culture to creating good leaders, Vedantam asks listeners to reconfigure how they make decisions, and more importantly, how they can make better ones.

There is so much more we must learn, and so many pivotal innovations that are only just a whisper. As front-line workers risk their lives across the region, we want to honor their challenges, and equally, celebrate their ingenuity. We are forging ahead with the Ideathon Pitch Competition, while providing more time for students to adjust to their new situations. Leading up to the new April 19^th deadline, Liftoff PGH is partnering with the Carnegie Mellon Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship to test some virtual idea sprints with students. Please stick with us as we capture the boldness and tenacity that has become the region's rallying cry, and let us know when you find an organization stepping up. It's just the beginning, but we are charging toward the future.