1. What do you need to know about SDG Open Hack Singapore?

• In partnership with United Nations for Training and Research (UNITAR), Open Geneva, University of Geneva, tertiary education schools & universities and corporate partners in Singapore

• The SDG Open Hack is not only designed to be an event, but also a practical programme on innovation and
  entrepreneurship, committed to cultivating students‘ leadership, creation, mobility, international competence and
  teamwork ability

• Open to local university students, encourage cross universities and disciplines to form teams to solve societal
  and/or environmental challenges, by way of learning UN 17 SDGs

• A 24-hour challenge running from May 16 to October 5, 2024, across the campuses of participating education partners

• Students can freely choose challenging topics according to their interests, form an interdisciplinary innovation
  team on site, and work hard to develop innovative solutions within 24 hours for challenges related to a certain field

• At the grand finale, the selected innovative solutions will be presented to the judges and the public on October 5, 2024

2. What does a hackathon mean?

The term hackathon combines  “hacker” and “marathon”. It refers to an event where participants work intensively for a short period to develop practical and innovative solutions to concrete problems (challenges).

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The SDG Open Hack brings together tertiary education students, professionals, academics, investors, and SDG enthusiasts to turn ideas into sustainable impact.

3. When and where will the Open Hack take place?

The  SDG Open Hack will be held across the campuses of our education partners. Each school will hold it differently, however the 24-hour format will be consistent. Selected solutions from each school will be invited to present at the Grand Finale on October 5, 2024.

4. When will the Open Hack open for registration?

Registration is open NOW! Check the schedule for each campus hackathon below and get in touch with your school representative(s) to register.

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Participants will have to either create a new project with the release of the challenge statements or choose a team to join before the registration closes. You must form a team with a minimum of 3 members and no more than 5.

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• (Concluded) May 16 & 17  l  Ngee Ann Polytechnic  l  Mr Benjamin Xue

• August 23 & 24  l  Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS)  l  Mr Meng Yi-Ju

• September 14 & 15  l  National University of Singapore (NUS)  l  Ms Ho Yuen Ping

• September 16 & 17  l  Nanyang Polytechnic  l  Dr Hashina Parveen

• September 19 & 20  l  Republic Polytechnic  l  Ms Jayne Loh

• September 28 & 29  l  Nanyang Technological University (NTU)  l  Ms Tracy Tan

• September 21 & 22  l  Social Impact Catalyst  l  Sean Tan

5. Who can participate?

Any student part of a participating education partner residing in Singapore. He/she is interested in turning innovative ideas into impact solutions by working with professional mentors. No prior knowledge of coding and/or programming required.

6. Do I have to form a team prior to joining the Open Hack? 

No, participants will be given the opportunity to come up with project solutions and allow others to join and form teams. Participants are encouraged to form a team with members from different disciplines within each school, that's what this Open Hack is all about.

7. Do I need to show up at the Open Hack with all the solutions?

No, participants are to submit their proposed project solution on Sparkboard and form a team via the same platform. Alternatively, participants can choose a project solution team to join. Participants can continue to refine their proposed solution by attending Innovative Bootcamps and working with professional mentors throughout the SDG Open Hack SG!

 

8. What are the Challenge Topics?

Please refer to the 'Hack Topics' page for details.

9. The steps to follow:

1. Submit your registration through the link provided by your school.

2. Sparkboard will be the main bulletin board for all information related to the event (apart from this webpage).

3. Create your profile on Sparkboard (include photo, skills, LinkedIn profile, etc.). A week before the Open Hack, problem statements will be released, and you can form groups.

4. Create and submit your problem statement and proposed solution on Sparkboard. This will help you recruit team members.

5. Discover all the proposed solutions on Sparkboard.

6. Join ONE team ONLY, choose your team according to the profiles and skills sought by the project. You are not required to form a team prior, you can join any project team on Sparkboard. You are strongly encouraged to form teams across schools and faculties for the optimum experience! *Each team is made up of a minimum of 3 members and no more than 5 people.*

7. Upload a PowerPoint, storyboard or pitch video (not more than 3 minutes to YouTube) and share the link on Sparkboard under your team’s project page before the cut-off date and time scheduled by your campus.

10. What language will be used for the Open Hack? 
English is the official language, and it will be used throughout the Open Hack. However, participants can discuss and work in their desired language(s) within their own team. 

11. Are there any winners?
Yes, there will be a total of 3 winning teams. The award categories are as follow: 

1. The Most Innovative Solution

2. The Most Impactful Solution

3. The Most Investible Solution​

 

12. What are the prizes?

Please refer to the 'Experiential Prizes' page.

13. What is the expected deliverable at the end of the Open Hack?
Each team is required to submit a PowerPoint, storyboard or pitch video (no more than 3-minutes to be uploaded on YouTube) presenting their solution in a business plan format before the school scheduled cut-off date and time. Late submission will not to be entertained.

The grand finale and prize presentation will be broadcast on the GGEF Youtube channel and is accessible to the public.


14. SDG Innovation Bootcamp

The 2-days Bootcamp will be carried out prior to the Open Hack by expert panels to equip participants with tools and skillsets to excel in the hackathon. Participants are strongly encouraged to attend the Bootcamp webinar series are required. The Bootcamp will be accessible via Sparkboard.

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15. How are mentors allocated and teams formed?
Mentors are pre-allocated to different SDG Hack topics. Depending on the problem you choose to solve, your mentor will vary.

For team formation, students can freely form teams on Sparkboard after the period for accepting solutions is over. You can review different solutions and form a team based on your interests.

16. Is the challenge presented in the form of a case? For example, with the development dilemma faced by a specific company as the case, and the team needs to find out the final solution?
We have a variety of problems. We have some problems that are more specific in that sense whereby companies ask for student’s solutions to aid them with a certain issue. For example, a hack topic regarding SDG #3: Good Health and Well-Being sees corporate asking students about how they can leverage digital health innovations to empower vulnerable communities and provide inclusive offerings to these groups. On the other hand, we also have more open-ended problems on SDG #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities whereby students are asked how we can rebuild our cities with sustainable social and economic growth.

17. Does the solution need to focus on the macro direction or specific to micro areas?
Again, this depends very much on the problem that you are tackling. Some problems will call for solutions that deal with a specific group of people while others may be on a much larger scale and will require solutions that are more macro in nature.

18. Are there any formal requirements for the solution? Or is there any preference?
There are no formal requirements or preferences for the content of the solution. We are open to creative and innovative ideas that will solve any of the problems in this Open Hack. The only standardised requirement is that you will need to present your solution in the form of a 3-minutes pitch PowerPoint, storyboard or video.