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2020-en

We are organising the Hackathon DECARBONISING THE VEREA CAMPUS

Do you have a great idea for decarbonising the UPV?

We are holding a hackathon and will mentor you to develop it

Hackathon dates:

  • From 1 to 23 October 2020, Thursdays and Fridays, 17.30-20.00

Registration period:

Information session:

  • Thursday 10th September, 5pm
  • Sign up using the registration form (above)

The climate crisis is a momentous challenge for our generation and for generations to come. We will only be able to overcome it, along with other crises such as the care crisis or the inequality crisis, through a transition towards fair and sustainable societies and territories. Starting with everyday spaces, such as the university campuses where we study, work and socialise.

In order to change course towards decarbonisation, a group of actors from the Polytechnic University of Valencia organised a hackathon of ideas to decarbonise the Vera Campus. Taking advantage of what we have learned in previous initiatives such as the UPV Food Waste Challenge 2018 or the UPV Global Challenge 2019, we want to generate innovative and ‘out of the box’ ideas to decarbonise mobility to, from and on campus, dematerialise teaching, research and university services, save energy and make it renewable, make food on campus more sustainable and reduce food waste, generate circular and local economies, etc., all ideas that can be implemented on campus in the short term. We are not only looking for technological or technical solutions, we are also interested in improvements in the way university processes are organised, innovations in teaching or research that reduce fossil emissions, etc.

It is not necessary for you to come with an idea already, nor do you need to have a team already formed. The hackathon will take place 100% online during the month of October, with UPV students participating in teams of 4-6 members. We are looking for teams with varied profiles, with different degrees, ages and abilities. There will be a specific ‘team building’ session dedicated to this. If you have any questions, we will answer them in an online information session on Thursday 10 September or via email at catenerg@iie.upv.es.

To help the ideas be put into practice, the two teams with the most promising ideas will have access to a 5-month mentoring programme at Col·lab in Las Naves, the social and urban innovation centre of the Valencia City Council. The aim of the mentoring is to advance the initial idea to a stage as close as possible to a demonstration in a relevant or real environment, ideally in the city of Valencia.

We want to generate solutions to decarbonise the Vera Campus and reduce its energy and material consumption. By 2030, we aspire to have a decarbonised campus, which generates almost all the energy it needs and consumes fewer material resources. Our vision is a campus of almost zero energy in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the European Green Deal and the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan. We want the campus to be an example and a sandbox for disruptive innovation projects that inspire other decarbonisation projects in the rest of the city, thus contributing to the City Council’s Missions València 2030 and making the mission of 100 European cities climate neutral by 2030 a reality.

We organised the hackathon with the Chair of Urban Energy Transition UPV-Las Naves and the Instituto Ingenio, with the collaboration of Las Naves (Valencia City Council), the Environment Unit (UPV), the Centre for Development Cooperation (UPV), the Chair of Innovation in Housing, the Chair of Tierra Ciudadana, the Chair of Valencian Economy, the Open Government Chair and the Climate Change Chair. We would like to generate solutions that we can see materialise in the short term. To this end, the organisers are committed to disseminating the solutions that come out of the hackathon, and also to transferring them to the UPV and other agents in the city so that they can be realised in the short term.

Teams will be made up of 4 to 6 UPV students, undergraduate, master’s and/or doctoral, and their members may be mixed or all of the same academic level. Registration can be in groups or individually; in the latter case, the hackathon facilitation team will also help to form the working group.

To help develop a decarbonisation solution, the teams will go through a process of eight working sessions. From the introduction to the problem to the communication of the solution, the teams will work with the hackathon facilitation team in online sessions on problem perception, definition, solution ideation and action, prototyping and validation. From there, the two teams with the most promising ideas will enter the mentoring programme.

Hackathon dates:

  • Thursday and Friday, 17:30-20:00, 1-23 October 2020

Registration period:

Information session:

  • Thursday 10th September, 5pm
  • Sign up on the registration form (above)
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