BBT Nordic Hackathon 2024
We kindly invite you to the first event of this series: Nordic Hackathon 2024 – a three-day event held in Odense, Denmark, from 27th to 29th September 2024.
The BBT Nordic Hackathon will be hosted at a modern research station in Southern Denmark (Svanninge), offering an ideal setting for collaboration and innovation.
Registration and challenge submission opens from 7 May to 30 June 2024.
Join the Blue Bio Techpreneurs Nordic Hackathon 2024: expand your network, gain expert mentorship, and present your innovations in the blue biotechnology sector.
Officially, the event kicks off on the morning of the 28th and concludes on the afternoon of the 29th. However, participants are expected to convene at the venue by the evening of the 27th and stay overnight.
Save the date and apply now as a student, or submit a challenge to be a part of this exciting event!
If you have any questions, please email us at hackathons@bluebiotechpreneurs.eu.
Join us as a student participant!
Who can participate?
Designed especially for students and young graduates like you, who are ready to tackle the real and serious challenges of the Blue Bioeconomy and propel us into a sustainable future. The hackathon is open to students (Bachelor, Master, PhD, as well as recent graduates with a graduation date of December 2023 or later) enrolled in European universities, irrespective of their nationality. Participants can come from various disciplines such as marine or natural sciences, as well as environmental economics, design, technology, programming, business or biology, and more. All applicants who are interested in working in the blue biotech sector or want to find out if they have potential are invited to apply.
From navigating market access and the complexity of aquaculture products to pioneering new technology for marine sectors, these challenges are real and serious issues that need your inspiration and ideas to become reality!
Each student must submit a completed application before the deadline (30 June 2024). Please note that you will also have to submit a motivational statement (max 500 words or a 3-minute video; see more details in the application form). The organisers and advisors both reserve the right to refuse any registration request which is incomplete or does not meet the requirements.
*Applications open on 7 May and close on 30 June 2024
What to expect from a BBT hackathon?
During this intense and fulfilling weekend, you will have the opportunity to meet experts and mentors from various fields, including business, finance, marketing, and research, to tackle blue biotech challenges.
You’ll collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of young minds. With 48 hours at your disposal, you’ll generate solutions for a real regional challenge alongside a mentor from the industry. The teams and challenge topics will be assigned later, tailored to your interests, and based on the topics submitted by companies and institutions. Your team may even stand a chance to win attractive prizes for exceptional presentations and pitches of inspiring solutions.
Note that registration is individual, and teams will be assigned later to ensure diverse and multidisciplinary groups, ready to take on the challenge.
Stay tuned for more details on the program structure, which will be released later this year.
What is in it for you?
By participating, you’ll have the chance to win exciting prizes, gain exposure, mentorship, and inspiration from various startup companies and industries in the Blue Biotechnology sector, with potential future opportunities.
Registering and participating in the Hackathon 2024 is completely free of charge for students. Accommodation and meals will also be provided over the course of the event:
- 27th September (Dinner and accommodation)
- 28th September (Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and accommodation)
- 29th September (Breakfast, lunch; no overnight accommodation provided for the night of 29th)
We would like to support the cost of your travel to Odense, Denmark, for the event. Depending on your location and our budget, we hope to cover either the full or partial amount of your travel expenses (please specify the estimated amount you may need in the application form).
Call for Challenges: Are you a startup, a company or an institution with a challenge?
We are eager for your ideas! Join us for the Nordic Hackathon, a three-day event in Odense, Denmark, from September 27th to 29th, 2024. This event will bring together the Blue Bioeconomy industries with 30 students, as well as recent graduates from Europe. Student participants will support you in solving your challenges and turn them into innovative solutions.
The BBT Nordic Hackathon is designed for startups, companies, and higher education institutions in blue biotechnology, which have real-life challenges to solve. You benefit from the ideas and inspiration of young talents who will hack your solution with innovative approaches. You get access to the blue talent of tomorrow and contribute to supporting young innovators in their development to access the blue biotech job market equipped with your experience in transversal skills, problem-solving, and design thinking. We appreciate your challenges in shaping a sustainable future for the blue bioeconomy.
We are eager for your ideas! Submit a challenge by filling out the short online form by 30 June 2024.
*Opens 7 May and closes 30 June 2024
For more details or to schedule a meeting, email us at hackathons@bluebiotechpreneurs.eu.
What is a challenge?
The challenge must be a real challenge (EU related) faced by your industry and could span social, marketing, and economic domains, presenting opportunities for solution-oriented devices, applications, harvesting methods, and more. The challenge can also be a project under development for which you need new expertise and knowledge or that is worth examining from a different perspective.
Some examples of relevant challenges that could be explore (but are not limited to):
- How can we sustain aquaculture industries, such as developing algae production for high-value products
- Create an interactive digital tool/application to match global ocean challenges with concrete innovations and solutions.
- Develop an interactive data visualisation platform that can handle large ecology imagine and quantitative datasets and represent them in a visually appealing and intuitive way.
Who can submit a challenge, and what would your participation look like at the event?
Challenge owners should send one representative (referred to as a mentor) to the event. The mentor’s role is to provide expertise and knowledge for the challenges when required. Please note that mentors are not allowed to participate in the pitch or presentation. Accommodation (for two nights) and food will be provided near Svanninge Bjerge. We hope to cover either the full or partial amount of your travel expenses for the event.
If you have any questions about this arrangement or would like to discuss alternative options, please feel free to contact us. We are more than happy to work out suitable arrangements with you.
What's in it for you?
Innovative Solutions & Matchmaking
The main intention of the hackathon is to tackle real-world challenges. and to match you with young talents.
The BBT Hackathons try to close the gap between academia and the real things going on in the blue bio markets. By providing your challenge, you’ll have the opportunity to end up with a tangible product or service. Or even if a final solution isn’t reached, you’ll gain valuable insights and new perspectives from these future-oriented innovators.
Take the chance and engage with inquisitive young students from academia and showcase your company to a new generation of talent. It’s an opportunity to demonstrate that your team is proactive, embraces sustainability and innovation, and welcomes young minds. Who knows? You might even meet a new team member!
Get involved in the Blue Bioeconomy Community:
By joining the event, you contribute significantly to the development of the next generation of blue innovators. You will have to chance to benefit from the Blue Bioeconomy community network, Blue Bio Techpreneurs is one of many interesting initiatives.
The BBT consortium consists of five esteemed European partners: two universities SDU and UG LINKS (DK, PL), French maritime innovation cluster Pole Mer Bretagne Atlantique (LINK) (FR), the Portuguese national network BBA (LINK) representing the blue biotechnology sector, and the German SUBMARINER Network dedicated to innovative approaches for the sustainable use of marine resources in the Baltic Sea. While formally representing five countries, our community extends far beyond. The BBT consortium is involved in many blue bioeconomy projects and always seeking for new partners for future endeavours. We have a high media coverage, and we will boost your presence and visibility in the sector.
For more details or to schedule a meeting, email us at hackathons@bluebiotechpreneurs.eu.
