Amsterdam 2013. Photo courtesy Sebastiaan Burg
The 2024 UN South Africa hackathon is now over, but the best is yet to come! Sign up to be the first to know when our next hackathon is announced, and keep up to date on all future hackathons:
Join us in South Africa (or online) this September to compete in our weekend hackathon for prizes and prestige!
The $70,000 United Nations hackathon is hosted by the Computer Science Department University of Pretoria (UP) from September 13 to 15 in collaboration with Stellenbosch University, South Africa's National Institute for Theoretical and Computational Sciences (NITheCS) and the Switzerland-based Knowledge Foundation.
Opening talks and activities are on Friday September 13th from 1pm to 4:30pm, followed by the 2-day coding competition which starts in the morning of September 14 and concludes at 5pm on September 15.
This event is part of a new 3-year series of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Coding4Integrity hackathons made possible through the partnership of UNODC, the United Nations Global Resource for Anti-Corruption Education and Youth Empowerment (GRACE) Initiative, Knowledge Foundation and DFINITY Foundation.
The Coding4Integrity 2.0 series is aimed at challenging young software developers with the task of creating a digital AI-based learning environment on anti-corruption. The series is composed of four yearly events focusing on two specific technology components of the final AI product. The 2024 cycle of events is focusing on AI and DeComm (Decentralized Commerce).
For details see TWO TRACKS: AI AND DECOMM below.
Open to all students, faculty, professionals and independent developers ages 35 and under. Please note that there is no cost to participate (hackathon participants do not pay a registration or participation fee).
We are looking for up to 50 young coders and innovation enthusiasts aged 18-35 to develop EdTech solutions to tackle the problem of corruption. Thanks to the financial contributions of UNODC, up to 15 selected participants from any developing country will receive financial sponsorship in the form of an economy class fare plane ticket to travel to Pretoria, South Africa.
All other selected participants are welcome to join us in Pretoria (if able to cover their own travels and accommodation) or online.
See CALL FOR APPLICATIONS and REGISTER TO COMPETE below.
The hackathon has two tracks. Compete in either, or both. Prizes are awarded for both tracks:
For a detailed overview about AI and DeComm targets please review the 2024 Oxford Hackathon targets provided in the PDF document below (note that the 2024 Oxford hackathon is now over and the document below is provided for informational purposes only).
South Africa hackathon participants will build on the results of the 2024 Oxford hackathon. In this way the Oxford hackathon winners provide the code foundation upon which the South Africa hackathon builds and further improves the AI and DeComm targets detailed in the PDF document below:
Note: The Oxford hackathon is over. The above is provided for informational purposes only.
See CALL FOR APPLICATIONS and REGISTER TO COMPETE below.
Hackathon winners will be awarded professional Internet Computer developer grants (DFINITY Developer Grant)* and Knowledge Token® intellectual currency, for which there are two levels of awards (see below). A total of $70,000 in prizes and awards are available ($30K in developer grants + $40K in Knowledge Tokens).
Knowledge Token® intellectual currency is awarded to all participants that complete the hackathon but are not on a winning team or a winning solo participant, for a total of $40,000 in token prizes. Knowledge Token® awards are redeemable towards registration fees at all future Summits and Symposia worldwide.
This prize will be awarded to a maximum of two winners (teams and/or solo participants), and is subject to DFINITY Developer Grant Program Terms and Conditions shown below. For this prize the $10,000 in developer grant awards will be distributed in the form of two separate $5,000 grants, meaning winners will successfully complete the first $5k grant in order to claim their second $5k grant. The Knowledge Token® prizes will be awarded to the winning teams and solo participants and are redeemable towards registration fees at all future Summits and Symposia worldwide.
This prize will be awarded to a maximum of two winners (teams and/or solo participants), and is subject to DFINITY Developer Grant Program Terms and Conditions shown below. For this prize a $5,000 developer grant will be awarded to each winning team or solo participant. The Knowledge Token® prizes will be awarded to the winning teams and solo participants and are redeemable towards registration fees at all future Summits and Symposia worldwide.
Knowledge Tokens® intellectual currency will be awarded to all participants that complete the hackathon but are not on a winning team or a winning solo participant, for a total of $40,000 in token prizes. The Knowledge Token® prizes are redeemable towards registration fees at all future Summits and Symposia worldwide.
Don't forget to get CYCLES before the competition starts!
Review the REQUIREMENTS section of the 2024 Oxford Hackathon instructions for details on how to get your free cycles before the competition starts:
Note: The Oxford hackathon is over. The above is provided for informational purposes only.
Don't forget to get CYCLES before the competition starts! See above for details..
Reload this page at 9:00 AM local time (Time Zone: Pretoria, South Africa) on September 14 and then click on the START CODING button below for detailed instructions on how to start the hackathon:
Problems or questions? Please contact hackathon@KnowledgeFound.org
FINALISTS: Submit your FINAL solution for judging using the following form:
Problems or questions? Please contact hackathon@KnowledgeFound.org
For an overview about this Coding4Integrity hackathon, including details on how to prepare your team (or yourself, if participating by yourself) for the competition, please see the Call For Applications and Participant Guidelines below:
Problems or questions? Please contact hackathon@KnowledgeFound.org
See REGISTER TO COMPETE below.
The hackathon is open to all students, faculty, professionals and independent developers ages 35 and under. Upon registering you will receive additional instructions. There is no fee to register (you can compete in the hackathon free of charge either as a team or individual).
AGES: The hackathon is open to all students, faculty, professionals and independent developers ages 35 and under.
TEAMS: All team members must register (below) to compete. Teams must be formed in advance of the hackathon. Individuals are welcome to compete by themselves (solo) without a team.
Problems or questions? Please contact hackathon@KnowledgeFound.org
Knowledge Token® (Knowken®) is designed to fundamentally transform the way in which learners, educators, and educational content creators acquire, distribute and generate knowledge.
As an incentive and participation token that is awarded to learners in exchange for intellectual achievements, while privately and securely recording corresponding academic progress, Knowledge Tokens are issued in amounts that correspond to the units or amounts of knowledge, skills and/or credits that learners earn.
First introduced at IMMERSIVE ITALY 2017 in collaboration with INDIRE, the Italian Ministry of Education's oldest and most highly regarded educational research organization and the benchmark for educational research in Italy, Knowledge Tokens can be considered to be intellectual currency and, as such, may be used to pay for goods and services such as mobile phones, tablets, computers, games, textbooks, tuition and more.
The Switzerland-based Knowledge Foundation was recently established as the educational organization responsible for the design, development, deployment and ongoing maintenance of the global Knowledge Token® system and related open international standards for blockchain technology in the field of education.
Grants are wholly separate from the Hackathon and are subject to terms of the DFINITY Developer Grant Program. Grant awards are not automatic or immediately guaranteed. Hackathon winners become eligible for participation in the DFINITY Developer Grant Program and entitlement to the full grant award amount is subject to meeting specified future milestones and satisfying all terms and conditions of the DFINITY Developer Grant Program. In the event that a participant wins a prize that offers them eligibility for a developer grant from the Foundation and the participant will be subject to the DFINITY DEVELOPER GRANT PROGRAM TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
Titles and organizations at time of speaking
Founding Director of the Immersive Education Initiative (iED) and Boston College faculty
Asst. Director General, United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization
Director, Office of Educational Tech, U.S. Dept. of Education & Immersive Education advisor
Chief Ranger, U.S. Dept. of the Interior National Park Service (NPS) and Immersive Education club advisor
MIT Media Lab Associate Director and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Prof. of Media Arts & Sciences
Harvard Graduate School of Education Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies, Harvard University
Fellow of University College, Oxford, and Director of University College Oxford Blockchain Research Centre
Director of New Media & Technology, Smithsonian and Immersive Education Initiative Arts and Culture co-chair
Co-creator and co-director, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab and Media Lab Asia
President, Federation of USA Scientists & Immersive Education advisor
Lead Researcher, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Learning Technologies
Professor of Learning Research and Director of MIT Okawa Center & Lifelong Kindergarten group
Faculty, Stanford University and Co-Chair of the Immersive Education Initiative Open File Formats TWG
Stereoscopic Supervisor, Disney Animation Studios and Academy Award®-winning film "Frozen"
Senior Principal SRE/SWE (Site Reliability Engineer and Software Engineer), Google
Futurist, Intel Corp. and professor at University of Washington & California College
