After the excellent success of our teams at last year’s Ocean Hackathon, the third place won in the grand final of the dock.me team and the activities of the C-BRO team, the University of Split joined the organization of the competition this year.

About the competition

Ocean Hackathon ^® is a 48-hour event during which teams have a unique opportunity to develop innovative ideas using digital data related to the sea and the coastal area . The competition will take place this year from 5 until 7 November on 5 continents and 18 cities around the world.

The invitation to apply for the challenge , that is, the topics that will be made available to competitors, has just been opened , and you can apply until 6 June. Competitors can expect a lot of teamwork, learning, fun, and best of all , valuable prizes and participation in the grand finale , which will take place in December 2021. (depending on the epidemiological situation, live in Brest or online).

You can see how we were last year in a short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTC4ED-7HVs&t=9s . Read more about the topics of the registered challenges and the experiences of the organizers and winning teams here: https://www.campusmer.fr/files/3367/OH5___dossier_de_presse___2021_01.pdf .

What is a challenge?

The challenge can be an idea or need of any user of the sea and coastal area . Also, the challenge can be a project that is already under development , and for which you need new expertise and knowledge that you do not possess yourself.

The challenge in Ocean Hackhaton ^® is based on the use of available digital data . According to their form, digital data can be: nautical charts, photographs, legal aspects and maritime safety, cable locations, wrecks, buoys, sea changes, sea level, oceanographic forecasts, pollution, ecology, physical and chemical characteristics of the coastal area, maritime activities.

Who can submit a challenge?

The challenge can be submitted by all natural and legal persons (companies, scientific and research organizations, higher education institutions, associations, students…) who have an idea or a problem worth solving , and whose content is close to the topics of the sea and the coastal area . The goal of the competition is to develop new products and services, test innovative concepts and share knowledge about seas and oceans.

How to report a challenge?

The challenge is registered through the Ocean Hackathon ^® platform by filling out a short form in English. On the platform, you must first select on the map the city where you are registering the challenge: https://www.campusmer.fr/Hackathon-2021-4222-0-0-0.html after which a new window opens in which you select the option “I would like to submit a challenge in Split” and answer a few short questions through which you describe your idea and activities planned for the competition.

Challenges that will be offered to Ocean Hackathon ^® competitors will be selected based on several criteria:

• connection with the sea,
• use of marine data,
• the originality and innovation of the challenge,
• connection between challenges and goals of ocean sustainability,
• with the consent of the challenge owner to attend the final competition.

The applicant of the challenge is the owner of the challenge and during the application he undertakes to be present at the competition itself. The applicant can already have a formed team in the challenge application phase or can emphasize what expertise he lacks in the team, on the basis of which competitors will apply for participation in September.

The main organizer of the competition is the Campus mondial de la Mer University in Brest, and the competition in Split is organized by the Technology Transfer Office of the University of Split with the support of the European Entrepreneurial Network . For more information, contact the Technology Transfer Office by email: info@utt.unist.hr or by calling: 021566 882.