World Solve

Addressing workers in fossil industries needing new jobs is critical for achieving the 2030 Agenda. Current efforts fall short in scale, speed and equity, leaving the most vulnerable behind. Any viable solution must function in low-resource settings with limited specialists, transport, laboratory capacity and broadband. Proposals should specify quantifiable biological, social or environmental outcomes, openly discuss potential risks, and present a realistic pathway for long-term maintenance and local ownership beyond short research pilots.

Materials marketed as biodegradable may require industrial conditions unavailable in real waste systems or may fragment into harmful residues. Standards must distinguish genuine environmental benefit from misleading claims. The solution must work with limited capital, intermittent services, and local maintenance capacity. The research opportunity is to define measurable success criteria, test the approach in realistic settings, identify failure modes, and create a pathway from prototype to accountable deployment.

The problem of workers breathing hazardous dust continues to affect hundreds of millions of people and undermines progress on multiple Sustainable Development Goals. Existing responses remain fragmented, under-resourced and poorly adapted to local contexts. A strong solution must operate effectively under severe constraints of skilled personnel, infrastructure, electricity and connectivity. It should define clear measurable outcomes, identify possible unintended harms, and demonstrate how the intervention can be sustained by local institutions long after initial funding ends.

Addressing dust storms causing respiratory illness is critical for achieving the 2030 Agenda. Current efforts fall short in scale, speed and equity, leaving the most vulnerable behind. Any viable solution must function in low-resource settings with limited specialists, transport, laboratory capacity and broadband. Proposals should specify quantifiable biological, social or environmental outcomes, openly discuss potential risks, and present a realistic pathway for long-term maintenance and local ownership beyond short research pilots.

Future progress on human development and planetary health depends on solving industrial pollution of rivers and lakes. Conventional approaches have proven insufficient. The required intervention must integrate community knowledge, data and appropriate technology while remaining affordable, privacy-preserving and operable with minimal external support. Strong solutions will articulate measurable impact metrics, risk mitigation strategies, and a plan for sustained operation by local actors after the pilot phase.

Industrial agriculture, pollution, and habitat loss may eliminate microorganisms with future medical and ecological value before they are studied. The challenge is creating ethical, distributed microbial conservation infrastructure. The solution must work with limited capital, intermittent services, and local maintenance capacity. The research opportunity is to define measurable success criteria, test the approach in realistic settings, identify failure modes, and create a pathway from prototype to accountable deployment.

Bad actors can spread coordinated campaigns across several platforms at once, and current detection systems often work in isolation per platform rather than recognizing the broader cross-platform pattern. Building this kind of coordinated detection remains an unresolved industry challenge.

Companies sometimes stop providing security patches for older but still commonly used software or devices, leaving users vulnerable without clear warning. Establishing consistent, enforced support timelines remains an unresolved industry practice.

Many apps still handle intermittent internet connectivity poorly, causing data loss or conflicts when switching between offline and online states. Truly seamless offline-first design remains inconsistently implemented across the software industry.

When companies discontinue software or online services, users often lose access to their data or functionality with little warning or support for migrating elsewhere. Standardized, consumer-friendly transition processes remain largely absent from the industry.

Smart home products from different brands frequently fail to communicate properly with each other, forcing consumers to juggle multiple apps and hubs. A universal, trusted communication standard remains incompletely adopted across the industry.

Fake or substandard electronic parts sometimes slip into supply chains for critical equipment, including medical devices and vehicles, and current detection methods are neither fast nor cheap enough to catch every case. This creates hidden safety risks across many industries.

Once a photo or video is edited or generated, there's often no reliable way to trace it back to prove whether the original was authentic. Building this verification into cameras and platforms from the start remains an unsolved industry challenge.

Many smart home and industrial devices ship with weak security because manufacturers prioritize low cost over protection, creating easy targets for hackers. Fixing this at scale requires an industry-wide shift that hasn't happened yet.

Robots can now handle many industrial tasks well, but tasks requiring soft, adaptable touch, like handling fabric or fragile objects, remain surprisingly difficult. Closing this dexterity gap would open robotics to far more everyday uses.

South American economies grow around 2% per year on average, below global trends, making poverty reduction and fiscal sustainability difficult. Scenario-modelling tools and inclusive industrial-policy platforms can help governments design more resilient growth strategies.

Europe must support Ukraine while rebuilding its own defence posture and replacing Russian energy imports, all under fiscal and political constraints. Defence-industrial coordination platforms and grid-optimization tools are key areas for innovation.

Rapid decarbonisation efforts raise energy and compliance costs for manufacturers who also face global competition. Industrial decarbonisation toolkits and green-finance matchmaking platforms can help firms adapt.

Rapid decarbonisation efforts raise energy and compliance costs for manufacturers who also face global competition. Industrial decarbonisation toolkits and green-finance matchmaking platforms can help firms adapt.

Post-Ukraine shock adjustments and the green transition have made energy prices a salient political and economic issue. Demand-response platforms and hedging tools for SMEs can mitigate impacts.