Registration is now open for the College of Southern Maryland (CSM) Velocity X Climate Innovation Hackathon, a two-day event where teams will invent, design, and test new solutions to address the impact of climate change. Held at the Velocity Center in Indian Head, Maryland on March 30 and 31, the Hackathon aims to transform community climate problems into problem-solving opportunities by bringing together coders, inventors, and community partners.
Lesley Quattlebaum, Executive Director of the Velocity Center, said, “We are excited to present an engaging, collaborative, and interdisciplinary day of problem-solving for our community. We already have a number of teams planning to participate, from high schoolers to CSM students to members of the community, and we invite everyone to come out to join us for an exciting day of working together to address issues that affect our region.”
The Hackathon has two challenges. The Data Visualization Challenge will ask teams to create tools that show how sea level rise will impact coastal communities and infrastructure, such as roads and properties. The Marketing Strategy Challenge will require teams to develop a comprehensive marketing campaign that targets coastal communities in Southern Maryland and increases communication and understanding of government resources available to residents.
CSM presents the hackathon in partnership with Ensemble Consultancy and Brightidea, who have provided a $12,000 prize pool through the CSM Foundation. Representatives from the Charles County Government, SMECO, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, and others will judge the solutions.
The event is open to everyone, and teams can be multidisciplinary, with individuals having different skill sets. Hassan Turay, a CSM’s competitive robotics team member, the Talons, who participated in the hackathon last year, said, “I really enjoyed the collaboration part of it. The hackathon gave me an opportunity to work with professional programmers and see where my skills are.” He added, “Just breathe and relax, at the end of the day it’s going to be fun, and you’ll learn a lot.”
To register for the hackathon, visit https://csm.brightidea.com/VelocityX2023. An informational webinar will be held on March 10 from 12-1 p.m. to answer any questions that those interested in participating might have. To register for the webinar, click here.