Hackathon Visual

Amerikahaus Hackathons - "In Code We Trust - Responsible Innovation for a Sustainable Future"

Amerikahaus Hackathons in a Nutshell 

In 2021, the Amerikahaus decided that it is time for a new format – a format which engages young people and creates awareness for society’s biggest challenges and promotes digitalization as a pivotal part of the solution. A virtual hackathon is an excellent opportunity to get young people involved in these issues by not only creating awareness, but also by proposing options for cooperation with like-minded people and by providing a concrete incentive in a competition among peers.

Join us for the 2022 edition of Amerikahaus Hackathons "In Code We Trust - Responsible Innovation for a Sustainable Future" - Details below
 

Amerikahaus Environmental Hackathon 2022

While the Covid-19 pandemic might still be raging, the defining topic of this century will be climate change and global warming – or more specifically, how we as human beings will tackle this challenge and negotiate its ramifications. The immediate consequences of global warming exceed the mere observation that we will have to deal as individuals with more severe meteorological events such as storms, constant rain, or longer heat waves. These weather-related events are only one effect of many, and you cannot do away with those by just buying more sunscreen or a larger umbrella.

In fact, climate change and its consequences will destabilize entire communities and even nations and society as such – some with directly related impacts through flooding, droughts and water scarcity, destruction of infrastructure by meteorological events. Other areas of the world may not have to deal immediately with these developments, but they will face new and potentially enormous migration patterns with people searching for new spaces to live. Wars will be fought over access to food and water. These are only few of many potential consequences of climate change, and it is obvious that every person will have a stake in the ways human kind deals with this situation. Climate change is not only about the weather- it is about welfare, about security, about peace, and about the option for a future that we can live with. It is about us, our current and future family, about our community, the city and nation we live in. It is about mankind as such.

While the individual challenges tied to climate change might seem overwhelming, technology and digitalization provide a pivotal potential for meeting the demands of our environment for a sustainable and livable future. 

Hackathon Challenges

  1. Reducing the Carbon Footprint
  2. Waste Management
  3. Environmental Safety


Who can participate?

To be eligible to participate in this hackathon and all its associated events such as raffles or quizzes, individuals must be between 15 and 30 years of age. Persons below the age of 18 need to show proof that their parents agree with their participation.

To be eligible to win a prize in the hackathon, the participant needs to be a member of a team where at least one person is either a resident of Germany or the United States, or where at least one person is enrolled in a German or US educational institution. If a person is interested in participating but does e.g. not have a partner at the time of registration the hackathon organizing team will assist him/her in finding an appropriate team.

For a detailed description on how to successfully submit a project in the competition visit the hackathon website at Eventornado..

Timeline

April 28 - Kick Off Event “What is Environmental Innovation?” - Registration for Hackathon “In Code We Trust - Responsible Innovation for a Sustainable Future” opens

May - June - Refine your thoughts on Environmental Innovation - Which challenge would you like to participate in - Look out for opportunities to win prizes in mini-competitions and raffles on social media

June 25-26 Hackathon Accelerator Weekend - Learn, Get Connected, Get Hacking

July 4 - Final Submission Deadline

Mid July (tbd) - Award Ceremony

Prizes

  1. Prize: $3000
  2. Prize: $2000
  3. Prize: $1000
  4. Honorable Mentions: $500


DATA PROTECTION

We will use your personal details for this event only. We will not disclose your personal data to any third party.  Your personal data will be deleted according to applicable legal regulation and according to our privacy policy. Please check our website for details on our data protection policy: https://www.amerikahaus.de/en/privacy-policy
 

Bavarian Center for Transatlantic Relations - Amerikahaus, Earth Hacks, US General Consulate Munich

Dr. Markus Faltermeier

Leiter Programme Handels- und Sicherheitspolitik

E-Mail
faltermeier@amerikahaus.de

Telefon
089 55 25 37-65

Tessa Brockt

Werkstudentin Programme Handels- und Sicherheitspolitik

E-Mail
brockt@amerikahaus.de

Telefon
089 55 25 37-85

In 2021, Amerikahaus hosted its first hackathon titled "In Code We Trust - Responsible Innovation for a Flourishing Society" on the occasion of the first implementation of Transatlantic Innovation Week.

In our hackathon called "In Code We Trust – Responsible Innovation for a Flourishing Society" we challenged young people in Bavaria to tackle those social issues which the participants identified as the most pressing ones, through software solutions. We were particularly looking for solutions in the fields of environment, health, cybersecurity, and fighting disinformation.

The success of our hackathon was quite remarkable. 138 participants took part in the hackathon and 15 projects were submitted to the final judging round. Our distinguished seven-member jury, made up of key leaders from various industries, including education and technology, had a tough decision to make. Along with the Executive Director of the Amerikahaus - Bavarian Center for Transatlantic Relations (Amerikahaus Munich) Dr. Meike Zwingenberger and Public Affairs Officer John Stubbs from the U.S. Consulate General in Munich, Freising Mayor Tobias Eschenbacher also evaluated the submitted projects. As experts, sponsors and partners from the IT industry, Alois Eder, CTO of Intel, Lukas Weiss, IT Team Lead at Siemens, Dr. Susan Lindner, Head of Digitalization at Bayern Innovativ, and Michael Stockerl, Head of Digital Product School, UnternehmerTUM, volunteered to review and evaluate all projects.

Check out our video from the Virtual Award Ceremony:

 

Hackathon "In Code We Trust" - Virtual Award Ceremony

The overall winner of this hackathon was the project Wavy, developed by Steve Thijssen and Thuy Nguyen, a project that was submitted in the Digital Health category and judged the best by the jury based on its idea, implementation and innovative approach.

We are currently planning the 2022 edition of our hackathon. Stay tuned for more information!

You are interested in organizing a hackathon with us? Don't hesitate to contact us.