BBT Atlantic Hackathon x Ocean Hackathon®
We kindly invite you to our third hackathon the “Atlantic Hackathon” which will be held as a local edition of Ocean Hackathon® 2025 in Peniche, Portugal from 17th to 19th October 2025.
Participants will be hosted by Escola Superior de Turismo e Tecnologia do Mar in Peniche. The site lies on the heartwarming Silver Coast of Portugal, offering an inspiring setting for collaboration and innovation.
The hackathon is co-organized by Blue Bio Techpreneurs, the Polytechnic University of Leiria and Smart Ocean. Ocean Hackathon® is an international event coordinated by the Campus Mondial de la Mer.
Join Ocean Hackathon® 2025 as a student participant!
Applications are now open!
When & Where?
From 17 to 19 October 2025, join a team of creative minds to tackle ocean-related challenges in a non-stop 48-hour event, using tools and data from across the globe. Each participant takes part in the local edition of their choice.
How to Apply?
- Registration opens on September 2, 2025.
- Go to the Ocean Hackathon® registration link.
- You can also visit Peniche edition’s page for registration details and instructions.
What You'll Need:
- Motivation and team spirit!
- A willingness to collaborate across disciplines (tech, science, design, business, etc.).
Selection Criteria:
There are limited spots available and selection will be based on:
- Relevance of skills and backgrounds for the challenges.
- Relevance to the event’s collaborative and innovative spirit.
- Timely completion of the registration process.
Scholarships Available:
A limited number of scholarships will be available to cover travel and accommodation costs. You can apply via the registration form.The deadline to apply is 26 September 2025.
The scholarship amount will be calculated based on your place of residence and follows the rules of eligible travel costs within EU-funded projects, which is available here.
Submitted Challenges:
1. Sustainable upcycling of aquaculture nutrients into circular bio-based solutions
AmpliAqua’s IMTA system produces nutrient-rich effluents that are currently underused. The challenge is to create a digital tool that matches effluent nutrient profiles with crop requirements (e.g., basil, arugula), helping transform aquaculture byproducts into valuable agricultural inputs. Participants will prototype an algorithm or dashboard, assess environmental benefits, and propose a scalable business model.
2. Detecting Microplastics in Food and Water: A Smart Monitoring Challenge
Microplastics in food and water pose risks to health, safety, and the environment, but current detection methods are costly and limited. This challenge seeks a digital or data-driven prototype to support microplastic detection and monitoring, with a focus on food and agricultural water in regions like the Azores. Possible outputs include a workflow-mapping tool, simulated data models, or a simple dashboard to visualize and track results — serving as a first step toward broader lab implementation.
3. Tracking Marine Biodiversity: An Interactive Genomics Explorer for Europe
Create an interactive web tool that visualizes marine species, biodiversity trends, and environmental data across Europe using EMO BON, EMODnet, and Global Fishing Watch. The prototype will allow users to filter by species, time, or region, identify biodiversity hotspots, and explore correlations with human activity and environmental conditions.
4. From Sea to Dish – Intelligent Traceability for a Sustainable Ocean
Design an intuitive digital prototype (app, website, QR code system, or similar) that reveals the full journey of seafood from harvest to table. The tool should transform complex traceability data into clear visualizations, including sustainability metrics, social responsibility indicators, and nutritional information, making seafood provenance accessible to consumers and supply chain actors.
5. Let’s improve aquaculture in Portugal?
Develop an AI-powered mobile app that provides real-time monitoring and early warnings of sea temperature changes and harmful algal blooms, helping bivalve aquaculture producers respond proactively to biotoxin risks. The tool should be accessible, user-friendly, and support sustainable aquaculture practices in regions like Portugal.
Call for Challenges: Are you a startup, a company or an institution with a challenge?
We are eager for your ideas!
Leverage an international pool of data and the brain power and creative energy of a team of participants to push forward innovative solutions linked to the ocean and the seas.
What is a challenge?
A challenge in Ocean Hackathon® is either a simple idea or an idea that fulfils a need of the maritime community or a more mature project that needs a boost or special expertise. The owners of the challenge can be legal entities or individual people.
To be taken into consideration, the challenge must:
- be linked with the ocean and seas, their sustainable development and/or their preservation
- lead to new ideas and/or innovative solutions
- be based on the use of data
- require the development of a prototype during the event
Why submit a challenge? (Ocean Hackathon®)
- Explore an idea, materialize a project, or remove a technical barrier
- Form a multidisciplinary team to develop all aspects of their project
- Have access to tools and data provided by the partners of Ocean Hackathon®
- Receive advice from coaches during the weekend. Benefit from their technical, scientific and project expertise
- Discover the innovative community of the city/region and expand their network
- Join the international community and discover a remarkably interesting panel of projects
