Nine challenges have been selected from among the 14 presented for resolution at the celebration of this international event that will take place in October within the activities of Zona Base, the incubator linked to the blue economy launched with Feder Funds.
The challenges address issues linked to the blue economy such as biodiversity, garbage, blue education, the water cycle or navigation.
Of the 14 challenges presented, 12 belong to the UCA, as do 7 of the 9 selected for participation in the event
The Ocean Hackathon is held at the same time in 17 cities around the world and it is the first time that locations from Spain have joined
The development of an app that allows evaluating the pollution of garbage in the sea, another app for blue tourism, the assessment of garbage in the sea through drones, the use of marine garbage in the production of school supplies for blue education or the development of a logarithm for fuel savings and pollution reduction on the maritime transport route are some of the nine challenges that participants will have to face in the Ocean Hackathon® 2020 to be held in Cádiz from October 9 to 11 and which will bring together experts and scholars in the field of the oceans in the city with their ideas and projects.
The selected challenges have earned the highest scores following the criteria of their connection with the sea, innovation and originality of the proposal, use of data or ocean conservation.
The evaluation committee has selected 9 of the 14 challenges presented, which it formally presented to the Free Trade Zone delegate, Fran González, and the rector of the University of Cádiz, Francisco Piniella, in a meeting held at the Rectorate this Wednesday and which reflects the importance of collaboration and joint work between both institutions to bring new projects to light.
Zona Franca, in collaboration with the University of Cádiz and the CEEI, are the hosts of this important and innovative international scientific forum that will be held for 48 hours in a row, becoming an ideation laboratory for the participating teams.
The meeting was attended as part of the committee by María Jesús Mosquera, vice-rector for Scientific and Technological Policy; Cándido Andrés García, director of the Knowledge Management Secretariat; Miguel Sánchez-Cossío Benjumeda, managing director of CEEI Bahía de Cádiz; and José David Sánchez de Medina, Base Zone coordinator in the Free Zone.
The organization has highlighted the significant number of challenges presented in Cádiz, being the first time that this event is held in Spain and in the city, surpassing in attendance cities that have already been participating in the Ocean Hackathon. This forum is part of the activities promoted by Zona Base Cádiz, the business incubator related to the blue economy that is being developed subsidized with funds granted by the Pluriregional Operational Program of Spain Feder 2014-2020 “A way of making Europe” and managed by the Incyde Foundation.
Cádiz's talent and creativity have been evident once again with the significant presence of participating challenges from the University of Cádiz group, since of the 14 challenges presented, 12 belong to the UCA and 7 of the 9 selected also.
It must be remembered that all natural and legal persons, public administration, research groups, universities, technology centers, etc. can participate in this scientific event, presenting a challenge. The objective is to create and/or develop a new product or service or even create a company, clarify an innovative concept or share knowledge about the seas and oceans.
In this sense, the highly innovative incubator included in Zona Base Cádiz is a pioneer in Andalusia and is proposed as an instrument for the promotion of innovation and technology transfer specialized in the blue economy sector, using, among other tools, actions such as holding forums and events such as the Ocean Hackathon®.
The geographical location of Cádiz offers a series of very close resources for the development of projects linked to the blue economy and provides the opportunity for Cádiz and the Zona Base incubator to be a benchmark in this sector.
