Great Lakes 2023-24

AquaHacking Challenge

GREAT LAKES 2023-2024

We are thrilled to be back in the Great Lakes Watershed

with our first bi-national Challenge!

The team is working hard to get everything in place for the

launch in September!

Hosted By

About the Challenge

The Great Lakes region represents 27% of the combined US and Canadian population, 28% of the Canadian and US economic activity, holds 21% of the world’s freshwater, and supplies 40 million people with drinking water on both sides of Canada-US border. Our dependence on the Great Lakes is tremendous and rapidly becoming tenuous as the ecosystem is facing a variety of issues that if unresolved will severely impact our way of life.

Solving these complex problems across such a large watershed requires ingenuity and innovation.

Streams of water

 

Water has no substitute. We need solutions now and we need everyone engaged! If you care about water and are solutions-minded, this is the program for you!

The Prizes

$20,000
First Place
$10,000
Second Place
$5,000
Third Place

Eligibility

Eligible participants must be between 18-35 years of age, a resident of Canada or the US, enrolled in a post-secondary institution or be a recent graduate. They are interested in freshwater and have skills in water science, engineering, programming, sustainable development, data, marketing or entrepreneurship. Most importantly, they believe ingenuity anchored in a respect for the natural world can make the difference we need in our climate impacted world.

How To Participate

Register & create your water-hacker profile

Build your multi-disciplinary team

Choose a water issue & tackle it

Leverage the on-demand content to build your innovation & leadership skills

Develop your solution & pitch it to the judges

Timeline

Specific dates are yet to be set, but here is an overview of the timing of the Great Lakes AquaHacking Challenge.

Sept 2023

Sept 2023

Kickoff

Online event to formally launch the Challenge

Sept 2023 - Feb 2024

Sept 2023 - Feb 2024

Phase 1

Teams are established, meet water experts, develop their solutions and access on-demand workshops, and mentoring

March 2024

March 2024

Semi-Final

Teams pitch their solution to a panel of judges, and finalist teams are selected

March-May 2024

March-May 2024

Phase 2

Finalist teams participate in leadership development, entrepreneurship training, and pitch training

May 2024

May 2024

Final

Teams pitch their final solution and business plan to a panel of judges. TOP 3 are chosen and awards given.

June 2024+

June 2024+

Incubation

Teams receive a spot in an incubator and join the AquaHacking Alumni Community

JOIN THE RIPPLE EFFECT

Interested in bringing AquaHacking to a watershed near you and improving freshwater health? Let’s Connect, or follow us on social to be the first to know about our next Challenge.