Why the Hackathon?

The hackathon is part of the Bank's commitment to engage and empower young people to be pivotal agents for agricultural modernization through ICT.

Using methods drawn from design thinking and creative problem solving, the hackathon will encourage participants to think outside-the-box and design unconventional mobile Agriculture (mAgriculture) solutions. The hackathon will follow principles of 'user-centered design,' actively engaging farmers and young people in developing solutions that are based on their needs, experiences and expectations.

QUICK FACTS:

Where and when

The five day long hackathon, which is happening in February 2016 in Uganda, will be comprised of two days of socialization and field visits, two days of hacking and a final day of pitching and presentation. Interested applicants shouldapply now :

Who

Young people from Uganda and South Korea will be participating in the hackathon, alongside mentors and partners in the Academia. We are looking for participants with the following profile:

  • A multi-disciplinary team beyond just programmers
  • Members of the team must be exposed to rural settings
  • Demonstrate a desire and or understanding of farming /Agriculture
  • Demonstrate technical skill sets
  • Must be a fully Ugandan team currently living in Uganda (For Ugandan Applicants)
  • A gender balanced team is preferred

How

Teams will spend 48 hours building a new mobile app. In teams of approximately 6, they will develop a mobile solution designed to increase the visibility of the need and demonstrate the potential value to small farmers and the app development community. On completion, they will demo the project to other hackers taking part in the hackathon and to an audience of over 100 local supporters in the Kampala community gathered to learn about the app prototypes, select the best apps, and celebrate the launch of the top apps selected.

Will there be mentors?

Yes! We will have plenty of support, including mentors from Makerere University and experts from the private sector and Korea to support the teams in testing their prototypes. Throughout the Hackathon, there will be regular 'Mentor check-ins' for teams to ask the experts any queries 
and receive guidance as they design their solutions.

Who can attend

Youth participants selected from the two participating countries of Uganda and South Korea.

Announcing the winner

The winning project(s) will be announced on day five of the #Hack4Ag, and the Wolrd Bank will support efforts to further refine the winning app(s) after the hackathon by working with the winning team during the Bank-financed Agriculture Cluster Development project pilot implementation.

Join the Conversation

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/worldbank

https://www.facebook.com/WorldBankAfrica

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/WBG_Agriculture

https://twitter.com/WorldBankAfrica

Hashtag #Hack4Ag

For more information contact

Jeehye Kim -- Agriculture Specialist jkim15@worldbank.org or

David Neilson -- dnielson@worldbank.org in Washington D.C.

Maureen Agena -- magena@worldbank.org in Kampala, Uganda

World Bank Group issued this content on 2016-01-21 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 2016-01-21 14:49:25 UTC

Original Document: http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2016/01/21/technology-meets-agriculture-at-hack4ag-in-uganda