FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Registrations close on Dec 4, 2023 at 23:59 CET

The Air Quality Hackathon is a free, registration-based virtual event. The hackathon aims to develop AI-driven MVPs and fight air pollution that will support nonprofit organizations fighting for access to clean air.

A Hackathon is a non commercial event to address the most pressing issues nonprofit organizations face. It aims to introduce systemic change and encourage the industry to engage in pro bono and low bono projects as a standard.

However, the three winning teams will be granted a budget for implementing their hackathon prototypes at a low bono rate. The total allocation for low-bono implementations is $15,000.

The hackathon starts at 12:45 PM CET on December 6 2023, and solutions need to be submitted by 9 AM CET on December 8. Winners will be announced on Friday, December 8, at 4:30 PM (CET).

A detailed agenda will be revealed soon!

Air Quality Hackathon is an event organized in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS). It is aimed at finding innovative technical solutions for changemakers to solve the problem of air pollution – considered a "silent killer". Air pollution is one of the most pressing health and environmental issues and most acutely affects populations in South, Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Hackathon challenges are provided by the world's leading non-profits in these regions. Tech companies around the world will form teams to compete throughout this three-day online event to work on solving critical issues relating to air quality. Participants, with the help of technical mentors, will use the latest cloud technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to bridge the data, forecasting, monitoring and information gap and support communities with access to clean air.

Hack To The Rescue is open to all tech companies that have teams of people over the age of 18 who would like to work together to create real change in just three days.

All you need is an eagerness to use technology to create a solution that will help make the world a better place. Obviously, you can be a programmer, UXer, graphic designer, or business developer, but you don’t have to be. Everyone is welcome!

Companies form teams of 1-6 people. There can be more than one team from each company, and each team can choose which challenge they want to work on.

Individuals interested in taking part in the hackathon shall seek internal allies in their companies and register together.

We accept only companies as participants in the hackathon. We focus on companies because our mission is to make world-changing projects in the low bono and pro bono format become the industry standard. We encourage you to convince your company to participate in the hackathon and register your entire team.

We're collaborating with AWS to provide you with unparalleled access to cutting-edge technology. This means AI at your fingertips and AWS Credits to fuel your innovation. Besides that, an exclusive practical workshop on Amazon Bedrock will be available for the participants before the challenge begins. But what is most important is that we're not just hacking for fun; we're hacking for good! Work on real air pollution challenges with leading nonprofits and make a difference where it's most needed.

Teams are free to build solutions using technologies and strategies they consider most suitable, though using Generative AI, ML, and diverse AI models will be encouraged. To give all teams the same chance to prepare for challenges, all details will be disclosed on the event day.

Companies form teams of 1-6 people. There can be more than one team from each company, and each team can choose which challenge they want to work on.

There is no limit to the number of teams from the same company, as long as each team has between 1-6 members.

Make sure you not only register the team but also each team member. We share all details on the process with Team Leads in the sign-up confirmation email. The real fun begins after your team and all team members are registered!

Read the requirements of the challenge you want to work on; if you agree with them, proceed. If you’re lost or unsure what to do, contact our mentors through Discord channels and ask for advice!

Please remember that all team members must create their Discord accounts (Discord IDs are required to upload the project to Challenge Rocket). More details are shared with registered participants before the event.

Unfortunately it’s not possible. One person can be a member of only one team.

Sure, you can change your team as many times as you want, as long as your new team is within your company. If your company registered more than one team, you can change internally.

Yes, as long as your team has a maximum of six members. You can also change team members (in case someone won't be able to participate). In that case, register new member via our Team Member Signup Form (access shared with you in private) and inform us about the switch at hackathon@techtotherescue.org

Yes, as long as your team has a minimum of one member.

The top 3 winning teams are required to make the Solution available to the non-profit organization that prepared the Challenge under an open-source license for use by that organization. We decided on open source so that as many nonprofits as possible could benefit from the developed solution, thus having the most significant positive impact on the world with companies offering expertise in similar projects.

To make the competition fair and engaging, all teams participating in the hackathon will learn the technical specifications of the tasks on the first day after the opening ceremony. Each nonprofit will conduct a 30-minute presentation, delving into project details and requirements. After that, for participants' convenience, all presentations and recordings will be added to the hackathon website.

Challenges are the problems participating nonprofits have identified. Your task during the hackathon is to develop a solution to the challenge and present it to a panel of judges at the end of the event.

All challenges are announced on the website. Technical requirements of all tasks will be published at the start of the event to give all teams equal chances.

• First, all the Hackathon teams submit solutions to challenges on Challenge Rocket on the morning of 8th December.
• Judges assigned to a particular challenge evaluate submissions asynchronously on Friday morning, and three finalists from every challenge are chosen based on the highest scores. Judges evaluate each submission on the criteria of solution innovation, usefulness, easiness of deployment, and maintaining safety, completeness, and quality of the solution.
• Finalists to each challenge have up to 10-15 minutes to defend their solutions before their panel of 3 judges and answer their questions. Judges choose one winner for each challenge.
• After that, the Final Jury evaluates the solutions of all winners and picks three projects with the most significant impact potential. Those winning projects will receive a low bono budget to implement the solution. The total pool for low-bono implementations is $15.000

For more details, see our Terms and Conditions.

Among the finalist teams, the Final Jury will identify three winners based on the projects' significant impact potential. These winning teams will be granted a budget for implementing their hackathon prototypes at a low-bono rate. The total allocation for low-bono implementations is $15,000.

You will need to record 5 minutes pitch (video) and submit it on challengerocket. Only finalists will take part in live QA session with Judges (8 Dec, 1-2pm CET) regarding the submitted video and other data.