USask hackathon finalists tackle social impacts of climate change
Three finalists for the University of Saskatchewan’s (USask) first ever virtual hackathon have been announced and a public vote will determine the winner.
The event, called EcoHack, is an immersive multi-day experience—hosted by USask in partnership with the City of Saskatoon—in which 14 teams of students from various degree programs collaborate using a rapid-iteration design model to generate viable solutions to a problem that fits within the City of Saskatoon's theme of “The Social Impacts of Climate Change.”
At the end of the event, the teams submit their solutions through short videos describing their chosen problem and recommended solution. The solutions can take many forms such as a marketing plan, an innovative business idea, software development, or a physical product idea.
A panel of judges have shortlisted the submissions to three finalists and now they’re asking for the public's help choosing the winner. The winner will be selected through an online vote that started on Nov. 17 and will close on Nov. 25.
The three videos up for public vote are:
Saskatchewan Green Innovation Organization
Aiming to make green initiatives more accessible for vulnerable populations in the City of Saskatoon through connecting cutting-edge research happening on campus with community organizations.
Compost Kings
If food waste was its own country, it would be the third largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, and it is a huge problem in our city as well since the landfill is filling up. This project proposes an adaptation to an existing compost system that uses food waste to heat homes in low-income areas in Saskatoon.
Too Confused to Reuse? SaskCycle Can Help!
Saskatonians don’t use transit for things like recycling and reusing items, and this project aims to change that. These students have developed an app to connect Saskatoon residents to various organizations that help to reuse and recycle, by giving residents easier access to information and free transit rides when they choose to reuse/recycle.
Access to the videos and voting survey can be found here:
www.surveymonkey.ca/r/ecohack
The winning team will receive a $1,000 grand prize.