Osvoji 10 000 EUR na Central European AI Hackathon-u u Pragu!

Dragi naši, 

TechSoup partner iz Češke Sdružení VIA zajedno sa Fondacijom Vodafone i kompanijom Microsoft organizuju prvi Central European AI Hackathon-u u Pragu! U tekstu ispod nalaze se sve informacije vezane za ovaj hackaton te nagrade koje će biti upriličene samo za najbolje! Na stranici hackaton-a nalaze se sve potrebne informacije kao i kontakt forma u slučaju da imate neka pitanja za organizatore. Također, ako želiš saznati više o našem radu u kancelariji u Sarajevu, pogledaj ovu odličnu priliku za internship!

We want you to be a part of big changes at our first Central European AI Hackathon!

To go shopping on your own, pay or choose a store according to our needs. All of this is much more difficult for people with disabilities. Join our hackathon, which is using artificial intelligence to make shopping really accessible to everyone.

It takes place on March 10, 2020 in Prague; you will receive support from experienced Microsoft consultants and in addition, you can win 10,000 Euros to complete your project.

To be able to go shopping for everyday objects is for many of us something you don't need to think much about. However, for many people with disabilities this is an issue that is very difficult to deal with. The retail industry is a huge part of our world and it is very frustrating not to be able to participate in it. But we believe, it doesn’t have to be that way and that the right tools can give disadvantaged people a helping hand to gain their autonomy in this sector.

13 % of all Czech citizens have some type of disability

Some type of disability affects a very large number of people: according to data from the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ), 13 % of the Czech population have a health disadvantage. In total, there are almost 1, 2 million people who are limited in their everyday activities due to their health problems. More than half of them (56 %) were granted disability pension or other allowance, or obtained a card of a disabled person.

The hackathon will try to find the best AI solutions

That's why we want to kick-start a change that makes retail more accessible to everyone: In an international collaboration with Microsoft, we organize AI for Accessibility HACKATHON, where we use artificial intelligence to develop solutions that can help disadvantaged people with their daily problems. The teams will get help from experienced Microsoft consultants and the best idea can win 10 000 euros (about 250 000 Czech crowns) to finish their project and deploy it to the public.

Who can sign-up?

A start-up, a university initiative or a NGO that already have a formalized idea and a working prototype: Meaning that there is already a team working on it, a clear vision of what it is trying to achieve and the basic idea of its business model. The participants will work with Microsoft’s AI technologies and resources alongside their peers from for example Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania or Bulgaria.

The deadline for applications is February 29.

Vodafone Foundation will give its Rafael Prize to the winner

The hackathon winner will be announced in two categories: Daily Use, which will reward the idea that has the greatest impact on users, and New Ways, which will appreciate the most innovative solutions. The winning projects will be presented at this year's INSPO Conference on Technologies for People with Special Needs, which will take place on March 28. At this conference, the Vodafone Foundation will award the Rafael prize to one of the winners who will also get another CZK 200,000 (7 900 euro) for project implementation.

You can find all other information, including the application form, on this website.