AI Hackathon 2023 - AI Hackathon

Get ready for the 11-20 August.

Join us in solving pressing environmental problems using AI.

AI Forum NZ is hosting an AI for the Environment Hackathon Festival across Aotearoa and the South Pacific.

Do you have a passion for saving the planet, starting in our backyard?

The winners will pitch their solutions at the AI Summit on 21 September in Auckland.

This event is being held across multiple locations including Auckland, Waikato, Wellington, Christchurch, Taranaki and Fiji.

Auckland I

11-12 August (academyEX and She#)

Wellington

14-15 August (Amazon Web Servies)

Christchurch

15-16 August (Callaghan Innovation)

Auckland II

15-16 August (NZME and Google)

Taranaki

15-16 August (PowerCo)

Fiji

18-19 August (ANZ Bank)

Waikato

19-20 August (UOW)

All locations

11-20 August (Online)

AI for the Environment Hackathon Festival 2023

Each hackathon within the Festival is a two-day challenge event focused on delivering real-life examples.

Our problems to solve are based on the 5 Key Environmental Outcomes (AI for the Environment Report 2022). We have expanded these to make them relevant to all participants in 2023.

You are welcome to bring your own problems to solve. If you do, we recommend letting us know so that we can do our best to help with data sets and technology support.

However, in case you are looking for ideas, we have found these ones for you – and some of the organisations involved will provide subject matter experts to help on the day.

Key Dates

Mark your calendars with the key dates below:

Registrations open

28 June 2023 - Register for one of the Hackathon events located around the country. If you are an experienced hacker you can join the event online.

Bootcamp

12 July 2023, 5pm - 6pm - a pre-recorded session for participants, which outlines the Hackathon, the problems to solve, planned venue and logistics, datasets and technology.

24 July, 2023 5pm - 6pm - for participants to clarify questions about the hackathon - from rules of engagement and ideas to datasets and technology. (We are running two of these sessions - come along to one or both to have all of your questions answered).

Live Q&A Session - 2

7 August 2023, 5pm - 6pm - for participants to clarify questions about the hackathon - from rules of engagement and ideas to datasets and technology. (We are running two of these sessions - come along to one or both to have all of your questions answered).

AI Hackathon

11-19 August - each site runs their own hackathon over 48 hours to the same general time frame and within the rules set out. All pitches are recorded and each event selects an overall winner. Each winning pitch is then submitted to the international judging panel.

Judging Day

22 August 2023 - our judging panel will assess the recorded presentations from all of the regional event finalists and winners to select the four teams who will go on to present at the Aotearoa AI Summit in September 2023. (This is an online event for judges only).

AI Summit 2023

An international judging panel will select the four best solutions who will then have the opportunity to pitch to the AI Summit 2023 in Auckland on 21 September. The audience at the Summit will vote for the overall winner of the Hackathon Festival

Registration Details

Secure your spot today and join us in solving pressing environmental problems.

STUDENT
$15
REGISTER NOW
Problem-solving for a sustainable future.
Student ID is required.

GENERAL
$25
REGISTER NOW
Join the Hackathon Festival 2023.
Tackle environmental challenges.

MENTOR
$0
REGISTER NOW
Forming and helping teams excel.
Focusing ideas and finding solutions.

➤ If you are an experienced hacker you can join online for $15. Register now and we will allocate you to a location ⮜

Meet our 2023 International Judges

Our panel of expert judges will select four finalists who will present at the Aotearoa AI Summit 2023 in September.

Matt Lythe

HEAD JUDGE Managing Director Lynker Analytics

Learn more about Matt >

Tim Bradley

Strategic Advisor
Digital Economy
Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Learn more about Tim >

Dr Phil Mourot

Senior Hazard and Disaster Risk Advisor. Senior Researcher at The AI Institute NZ

Learn more about Phil >

Madeline Newman

Executive Director
AI Forum
New Zealand

Learn more about Madeline >

Meet our 2023 Regional Judges

Our regional judges will select an overall winner from their event. Regional winners are submitted to the international judging panel who choose four finalists to present at the Aotearoa AI Summit in September.

Auckland - I

Wellington

Christchurch

Auckland - II

Taranaki

Waikato

Auckland - I

The regional judges for the Auckland hackathon event on 11-12 August supported by academyEX and She Sharp are:

Dr Mahsa McCauley | Megan Tapsell | Sam Ng

Wellington

The regional judges for the Wellington hackathon event on 14-15 August supported by AWS are:

Matt Lythe | Prof Mengjie Zhang | Tim Bradley

Christchurch

The regional judges for the Christchurch hackathon event on 15-16 August supported by Callaghan Innovation are:

Sarah Sun | Dr Phil Mourot

Auckland - II

The regional judge for the Auckland hackathon event on 15-16 August supported by NZME and Google is:

Gabriela Mazorra de Cos

Taranaki

The regional judge for Taranaki hackathon event on 15-16 August supported by PowerCo is :

Maria Mingallon

Waikato

The regional judges for the Waikato hackathon event on 19-20 August supported by University of Waikato are:

Dr Phil Mourot | Glen Willoughby | Fraser Paine

Prizes 2023

Winning team of each region: $250

Overall Hackathon Winning team: The TAIAO Prize of $1,000. Plus each team member receives an ArcGIS for Personal Use license which provides access to ArcGIS for 12 months for personal, non-commercial projects.

Prizes kindly donated by Eagle Technology.

➤ The University of Waikato is celebrating 50 Years of Computing https://computing50.waikato.ac.nz/.

For this special occasion, they have a fantastic prize up for grabs for a Year 12 or 13 high school student participating in the hackathon to receive a $5,000 scholarship to enrol in a computer science degree at The University of Waikato!

Problems to Solve

Participants are welcome to bring their own problems to solve.

If you do, we recommend letting us know so that we can do our best to help with data sets and technology support.

Climate Change Mitigation: Reduction of greenhouse emissions, mitigating the effects of climate change including planning and recovery from natural disasters.

Reducing Pollution from our Activities: Substances or kinds of energy (noise, light, heat) that are harmful to the environment.

Protecting our Freshwater and Marine Resources: How we fish, the taking of water from waterways, and what we discharge into waterways. Real life problem: Seascape

Impacts of Changing Land Use: Changes to vegetation and land uses and the impact that has on the Environment, e.g. Biodiversity, Erosion and Climate Change, and use of land as an effective resource (e.g. Farming). Real life problems: Baring Heads , ReFood

Preserving and Bolstering Biodiversity: Protection of native plants, animals, ecosystems on land, freshwater and marine environments. Real life problem: Te Korowai o Waiheke (Video and Presentation) , Early detection of newly naturalising weeds

Our problems to solve are based on the 5 Key Environmental Outcomes. We have expanded these to make them more relevant to all
participants in 2023. Our problems to solve are based on the 5 Key Environmental Outcomes (AI for the Environment Report 2022).

Resources and Essential Kits

Promotional Toolkit

Bootcamp and Live Q&A session

Pitch Deck & Datasets

Mentor & Participant Info Kit

Promotional Toolkit

Help us spread the word about the AI for the Environment Hackathon 2023! Download social media assets, images, and copy to use across your marcomms channels i.e. social media and newsletters. If you would like something specific, please email us at info@aiforum.org.nz.

Bootcamp and Live Q&A session

If you missed the bootcamp held on 12 July, 2023, or would like to revisit specific chapters and information, you can download or view the videos or explore individual chapters below:

Pitch Deck & Datasets

The pitch deck template and datasets information is now available for download.

Mentor & Participant Info Kit

The mentor information pack is now available for download.
This provides helpful information for mentors attending a hackathon event.

Please check the website for the latest updates regarding dates, locations and sponsors as some details in these videos and documents may have changed. If you have any questions or concerns, please email us at info@aiforum.org.nz.

Media Gallery

Here’s some highlights from this year’s AI for the Environment Hackathon Festival, which took place in six locations on 11-20 August.

Regional winners

The winning team of each region received $250, kindly donated by Eagle Technology.

Auckland (academyEX and She Sharp):
Ocean/MCM (Huijun Jin, Charles Yu, Taimor Hazou, Sarah Mwashomah and Yijun Jin) and Floodcheck.ai (Bin Zhang, Danielle Pont, Jing Qi and Monika Tylova) – joint winners.

Wellington (Amazon Web Services):
Deepweed (Jack Drummond, Liam Crowley, Roydon Goldsack, Tom Walker, Kate Mcalpine).

Christchurch (Callaghan Innovation):
Tree Trackers (Stephanie Langer, Joanna Sharp, Blake List, Stephen Bell, Daniel Bentall and Bryn Gibson).

Auckland (NZME and Google):
Trap Feng Shui (Frank Wu, Kui Wang, Marsha Ma-Fairbrother and Richard Wright).

Fiji (ANZ Bank):
Primordial (Rahul Chand, Emenual John, Priyam Narayan, Alvin Singh and Nandita Nishika).

Waikato (The University of Waikato):
Illegal Dumping (Rawinder Singh, Thin Nadi, Dion Pinto, Chengfang Liu, Zhanchao Shao and Vinay Nelli).
CoastCaster (Zhanchao Shao, Vinay Nelli)

Finalists

DeepWeed (Wellington) | Team Illegal Dumping (Waikato) | Tree Trackers (Christchurch) | Trap Feng Shui (Auckland)

FAQs

Find answers to frequently asked questions below.

There are two dates for the Hackathon in Auckland, what’s the difference?

The only differences are the dates and locations. Both events are being held at quality venues with excellent support available and will be run to the Hackathon Festival’s rules.

The winners from both events will compete for the national award.

The first Hackathon in Auckland is on Friday 11th and Saturday 12th August and is being hosted by AcademyEx at their Khyber Pass Road campus. Mentors from She Sharp will be supporting this event alongside others.

The second Hackathon in Auckland is on Tuesday 15th and Wednesday 16th August and is being hosted by NZME at their iHeart Studios in Graham St in the CBD. This event is being supported by Google and others.

I am registering as an online participant as part of a team that will be there in person. How do I participate?

Register as a normal participant but add to the notes that you will be participating online, or register as an online participant but add to the notes that you will be participating as part of a pre-formed team.

You and your team can self-organise how you participate (e.g. via Slack / Teams / Zoom). You and your team must make sure that the organising team at the venue and the judges are aware you are contributing to the team’s work remotely.

I am registering as a solo online participant without a team. How do I participate?

Solo online participants not registering as part of a pre-formed team will be assigned to a Hackathon venue. You will need to adhere to their dates and timings.

At the start of Day 1 of their Hackathon event you can join a team on the ground and participate with them throughout the event. You will need to self-organise online calls / interaction with your team.

You can organise to join your team’s pitch via a Zoom call.

I am a member of an online team. How do we participate?

Once we receive your registration, you will be assigned to a Hackathon venue that is running a hybrid event. You will need to adhere to their dates and timings, and a mentor will be assigned to your team to check on your progress throughout the hack.

You will pitch to that Hackathon’s judging panel and be considered alongside those participating in person at that venue.

Should our team build the prototype on Python?

There is no restriction on the technology used by teams.

Where can I find the evaluation criteria?

The evaluation criteria is available as part of the participant’s pack available here. Please note that this is not an academic exercise and hence detailed evaluation criteria will not be available.

How will the topics we have to tackle be verified?

Teams can either choose one of the provided problems to solve or choose their own.

Each problem to solve must fit into one or more of the 5 key environmental problem areas outlined in the Problems to Solve pack here.

If you are unsure about whether your problem to solve fits within the criteria please contact us with details by emailing us at info@aiforum.org.nz or check with the team organising your event on the day.

AI for the Environment Hackathon Festival

Get ready for the 11-20 August.

Auckland I

Wellington

Christchurch

Auckland II

Taranaki

Fiji

Waikato

All locations

AI for the Environment Hackathon Festival 2023

Key Dates

Registration Details

Meet our 2023 International Judges

Meet our 2023 Regional Judges

Prizes 2023

Problems to Solve

Resources and Essential Kits

Media Gallery

Regional winners

Finalists

FAQs

Proud Partners of AI Hackathon 2023

Thank you to our incredible sponsors for helping support this year’s AI Hackathon