Social Impact Hackathon
The British Council is joining forces with MOME Innovation Centre and Microsoft to host a hackathon for young people to explore and showcase the power of artificial intelligence (AI) for the common good.
AI is seen as a technology that has the power to solve some of the biggest global challenges facing us today. Young people have the power to influence the future of AI and whether it will be used as a tool for shaping solutions to real problems. It is a field in which they will be called to act critically, influence others and support wider society.
We are inviting young people aged between 18 and 35 who are passionate about sustainability and interested in innovation and creative problem-solving to work together in interdisciplinary teams and create AI-based solutions to social and environmental challenges.
The hackathon will take place from 23 to 25 February 2023 at the MOME Campus.
Who are we looking for?
Applicants should be between 18–35 and have a background in one of the following fields:
- Environmental or social sciences: People who support social justice, are proponents of environmental/human rights.
- Design or business/entrepreneurship: People who design products and solutions that aim to improve the well-being of individuals and communities. People who can be creative and think outside the box.
- Computer science or STEM: People who have a background in sciences. It can be basic knowledge of what AI is and how machine learning works.
Note: There is no need to be an expert on AI to participate as the programme will involve training in AI fundamental principles. Mentors will support each team through the process.
What do you gain?
Pitch your solution to win a study trip to London and join the other winning teams from Greece, Cyprus and Ireland! The UK study trip will take place from 6 to 8 March 2023.
Selected teams may also participate in the MOME IC Incubation Programme.
What are the topics?
Participants will work in teams to design an AI-based web service addressing the topics of climate change or food waste. We will elaborate on the topics during the event! You will be able to identify ways in which AI is contributing to our lives today, what applications AI should be used for, and how AI can be used to address some of the biggest challenges we face.
Participation is free of charge, but places are limited!
You can apply individually or in teams by filling in the online application form by Monday 20 February 2023.
Participants should:
- have a good understanding of English as the hackathon will be held in English
- bring their personal laptops to work with during the hackathon (tablets and mobile phones are not supported)
- have Windows 10 (or above) or the latest version of MacOS and the Microsoft Teams application installed.
For more information, please contact incubation@mome.hu
Online Policy Dialogue
In partnership with business, research and innovation partners, our Online Policy Dialogue ‘Stronger Together | Artificial Intelligence for the Common Good’ held on 7 March 2023 provided a platform for exchange between young leaders and national, European and international policy makers on the critical challenges and best practices in the field.
We were pleased to host Jack Watson, Head of AI Skills and Workforce, Office for AI, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology; Jim Dratwa, Ethics in Science and New Technologies, European Commission and Secretary-General of the EC International Dialogue on ethics and bioethics; Emine Yilmaz, Professor of Computer Science and Alan Turing Fellow, University College London and Amazon Science Scholar; and James Bridge, Secretary-General and Chief Executive UK National Commission for UNESCO.
The panel was moderated by Dr John Shawe-Taylor, UNESCO Chair in AI, IRCAI Director, Professor at University College London and Director of the Centre for Computational Statistics and Machine Learning (CSML).