Are you interested in sustainable innovations in areas such as environment and mobility? Do you want to work in interdisciplinary teams? Do you want to develop ideas to improve living conditions in sustainable cities and communities? Do you want to apply your theoretical knowledge to the development of solutions for current societal challenges? Then apply for the second WTZ Ost Hackathon „Digital Solutions for Societal Challenges – Environment & Mobility“!

At the Digital Solutions for Societal Challenges Hackathon (#WTZHackathon) interdisciplinary teams work on concepts for (participatory) digital solutions to current societal challenges. This years‘ hackathon focuses on the topics environment and mobility. Students and early career researchers from all disciplines can apply, either as a team or as individuals. Programming skills are welcome, but are not essential for participation. Special price for all-female teams!!

The hackathon is organised in cooperation with the City of Vienna, DIGITALCITY.WIEN, UpLeveled, SDG Watch Austria and the Faculty of Earth Sciences, Geography and Astronomy, University of Vienna.

We will have experts from the City of Vienna, presenting background-information on the challenges and providing relevant data for the listed topics below. SDG Watch Austria will provide information on the Agenda 2030. Mentors from the City of Vienna and UpLeveled will support you during your project work.

Have a look at the agenda!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at: wtz.fsnf@univie.ac.at

Here you can find a report on the successful WTZ Ost Hackathon 2020 „Digital Solutions for Societal Challenges“.

Awards?

The jury, consisting of representatives of the City of Vienna, SDG Watch Austria and the University of Vienna, Faculty of Earth Sciences, Geography and Astronomy, will select an overall winning team of the #WTZHackathon 2021 as well as an all-female winning team.

The winning team of the general #WTZHackathon 2021 will receive €1.000, provided by the City of Vienna and the Faculty of Earth Sciences, Geography and Astronomy, University of Vienna, as well as the opportunity to present their project at an event by the City of Vienna.

The all-female team will receive €1.000, provided by UIV Urban Innovation Vienna GmbH, and the opportunity to present their project at the Digital Days 2021. They will receive the cheque in the afternoon of 19 October during the DIDAYS.

In addition, selected projects will have the opportunity, dependent on the feasability, to further develop their project with MA23, City of Vienna.

How to participate and how to apply?

We are inviting interested students and early career researchers from all academic disciplines and Viennese universities and universities of applied sciences to sign up. The approach is an interdisciplinary one! Come to the Hackathon and put your skills and ideas into practice.

!! We extend the deadline: apply by 6 September 2021 by filling in the form „Anmeldung“ at the bottom of the page.!!

You may apply with your own team or be matched with other participants to tackle the challenges of the hackathon. You and your team will be supported by researchers, experts from the industry, technical experts, and policymakers.

Please note: This event will be held as a classroom event. Covid-19 prevention measures and regulations for events are of course fully complied with. A negative PCR test ist mandatory!

What are the challenges?

In cooperation with the City of Vienna nine challenges around the topics of environment and mobility have been selected. These challenges contribute to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), set by the UN for 2030. The SDGs combine the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, society and environment.

• Klima Grätzl
  The KLIMA GRÄTZL anchors the goals of the Smart City Strategy at the neighbourhood level. The central fields of action are climate protection, climate adaptation and circular economy. In a transdisciplinary process, implementation strategies for the installation of greening measures (reduction of urban heat islands), a redistribution of public space, social inclusion (involvement of the population as local experts) etc. are strived for and developed. Which digital solutions could be used to reduce the ecological footprint of your own neighbourhood?
• Online Shopping & Climate
  Currently, online shopping leads to high numbers of empty runs and returns of goods, which in turn have a negative impact on our climate. Which digital concepts for more efficient climate-friendly approaches to the logistics of online-shopping could be developed – that also meet the expectations of frequent online shoppers (especially in individual submarkets)?
• Digital participation tools for road safety
  Digital participation tools are internationally tested to improve road safety e.g. digital maps in which citizens mark traffic accidents in order to identify critical spots. How could this, or further ideas, be implemented in digital solutions in order to improve road safety in Vienna?
• Tools for identifying potential areas for roadside planting
  As part of its climate strategy, the City of Vienna plans to plant 25,000 new trees. A key challenge here is where these trees should be located. What could participatory digital solutions for this challenge look like, which consider important criteria such as parking spaces, heat islands, etc.?
• Sharing streets in a fair way
  Diversity of users, diversity of use: What contribution can digital solutions make to better reconcile the diverse demands on the road network by motorists, cyclists, users of e-scooters, etc.?
• Efficient planning and maintenance of public roads and paths
  Which data-driven approaches could facilitate a more efficient planning and maintenance of the public road network?
• Sharing Mobility
  Which digital concepts for local mobility options could encourage citizens to reduce their personal ecological footprint?
• Cycling in Vienna
  Which digital tools could be used to motivate an even larger population group to increase their use of bicycles? How could those population groups be mobilized that do not currently get on a bicycle?
• Commuter Traffic
  Many people commute to work alone in their cars.
  What ideas are there for more people to carpool in order to relieve traffic congestion?

You can choose one of these challenges when you register. If you can’t decide yet – no problem! The challenges will be presented by experts of the City of Vienna at the beginning of the event. Afterwards, you can still choose one of these challenges on the first day of the hackathon and work on a solution together with a team.
And of course you are welcome to propose your own challenge on the overall theme of the hackathon „Environment & Mobility“ and work on it.

If you would like to know more about Vienna’s Smart City Goals, have a look here.

What is the goal of the hackathon?

During the hackathon the teams will work on a challenge in order to develop a prototype or a concept for a possible digital solution. At the last day of the hackathon, each team will pitch their ideas to a jury. What you do with your ideas after the hackathon is up to you! But whatever you plan to do – whether it’s founding a social business or further developing your ideas together with experts from our cooperation partners: we’ll support you! We do not claim any rights on your projects.

Cooperation partners: