Innovation Hackathon
The hackathon
IWMI and UNDP Egypt Accelerator Lab are coming together to collaborate with young innovators in finding new creative solutions for the farming communities in the Nile Delta, to help them in building climate change resilience, increasing their crop yield, and improving their livelihood.
During the virtual hackathon, teams of young creative innovators will get the chance to work on their ideas to tackle major problems resulting from climate change that jeopardizes water and food security on the farmers’ level. They will also receive support from experienced mentors with a diverse knowledge background of water, climate, agriculture, and entrepreneurship. The winning teams will get the opportunity to develop their solutions further and the support required to advance their career.
Deadline to Apply: December 4th
The challenge
Seasonal temperature variations are very important to farming. Getting just the right amount of heat at just the right time of year is critical to the success and the productivity of the agricultural land. With more frequent heatwaves, and scarce freshwater resources, smallholders’ farmers in the Nile Delta are suffering from reduced crop yields, increased spread of pests, diseases, and reduced productivity and health of their livestock.
Egypt is positioned in one of the most water-scarce regions in the world and it faces a plethora of challenges regarding water and food security, which are expected to be further compounded by climate stressors like rising temperatures and more frequent heat waves. This year both mango and olive farmers have experienced great losses of their outputs to the extreme heatwaves, causing a socio-economic catastrophe. These incidents are not exceptions, across the Nile Delta farmers face the impacts of rising temperature and more frequent heatwaves, putting their livelihood and the country’s food security at high risk.
Key questions
In the case of extreme heat waves events, here are some key questions that we challenge ourselves to find answers to. How can we…
- Better understand our climate systems and provide more reliable information to farmers and organizations?
- Support farmers in the Nile Delta to adopt smart irrigation and water management practices?
- Ensure the increase and/or stability of crop yields, livestock growth, and farmers income?
- Improve soil health and moisture?
- Protect crops and livestock from pests and diseases infestation?
- Ensure the safety of farmers and their families?
How to apply
Form teams of 2 to 4 members and submit your ideas that show a clear impact on building small farmers’ resilience to heatwaves while also increasing water productivity. Submit your application before December 4, 2021.
The virtual hackathon is open to teams of young creatives who are:
- Between the ages of 18-35
- Eager to use their diverse set of skills, from design, engineering, social science, coding, ecology, agriculture, storytelling, etc
- Passionate about climate action and eager to change the status quo
The awards
Monetary prize to test the winning solutions
First Place
40,000 EGP
Second Place
20,000 EGP
Students Bonus
INTERNSHIP
Prize includes non-monetary benefits
- Connecting with creatives from across the country
- Getting access to experts in the field and receive technical support in developing their ideas
- Getting access to innovation methodologies such as design thinking
- Get national outreach and recognition
Judging criteria
- Impact
- How much impact would a solution have in solving the addressed challenge?
- Feasibility​
- Is the solution realistic in terms of the technological, financial and other aspects?
- Sustainability
- What is the long-term impact of the solution and can it be sustainable in the future?
- Innovation​
- Is the solution innovative and creative, is it using introducing a new way of thinking about the challenge?
Here is how it works
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is a hackathon?
A hackathon is a competition where participants form teams, work intensively on a project, create a solution, and then pitch their ideas to judges - What do I need to participate?
A strong team, access to internet, a computer, comfy clothes (for long hours of work), a creative mind, a positive attitude, and a smile! - What is provided during the hackathon?
Through the hackathon, we would provide the teams with scheduled technical assistance through our experienced coaches on your solution as well as your pitch, collective sessions where you would learn new tools and techniques for creative problem solving like design thinking - Is this an online hackathon?
Yes, the hackathon will be held in full virtual model to make sure teams can participate from across Egypt
Strategic partners
