The Biggest Blockchain & AI Hackathon in the Netherlands Starts NOW!
Oddysey Hackathon 11th-15th April 2019!
The whole Dutch blockchain community is bracing itself for the biggest and most important event of the year, the Odyssey Hackathon that starts tomorrow at Groningen’s Sugar Factory.
The third edition of the Hackathon will see more than 1500 attendees and 100+ teams solving 20 societal challenges using the blockchain technology and AI.
This yearly event brings together developers, activists, experts, educators, many large national companies (KLM, APG, NUON) and government institutions including the Chamber of Commerce (KvK), Ministry of Justice and Security, and Ministry of Interior, all aiming to fast-forward innovation and accelerate technological solutions for pressing real-world problems.
Solving the world’s most pressing challenges through the power of technology and interconnected, collaborative communities
Tracks at the Odyssey Hackathon 2019
In 2017, the conference brought together 450 participants within 5 tracks which resulted in 55 prototypes. 2018, saw 1000 attendees, 7 tracks, and 64 prototypes. This year will be the largest event yet, with 11 tracks and 100 teams so stay tuned for a daily Oddysey digest and blog posts I’ll post here.
The tracks sponsored by various organizations and corporations in the Netherlands carry a specific goal to serve as ideas incubator and implement promising projects after the Hackathon.
List of tracks:
- Fossil Free Future
- Nature 2.0
- 21th Century Digital Citizenship
- Rethink Retirement
- International Travel
- Crisis and Disaster Management
- Inclusive banking
- Feeding the Future
- Scaling Ecosystems
- Digital Nation’s Infrastructure
- Future of Cargo Insurance
Each track has one or more specific topics, and those carry multiple teams and projects. Some tracks and teams have been preparing since 2018 to deliver the most amazing solutions to a variety of social impact and environmental challenges.
My Focus for the Hackathon
I will be participating in the event as the media crew and will cover some of the main events happening on the Sugar Factory grid plus details on my favorite teams and tracks.
The Hackathon is so immense it’s simply impossible to cover everything, so I will focus on sustainability-related projects which will include Fossil Free Future, Nature 2.0, and Scaling Ecosystem tracks (scaling wildlife protection topic).
The Blockchain Netherlands Team
Many of my friends and acquaintances are part of the hacking teams and the advisor's (the Jedis!). I’m particularly excited about the Blockchain Netherlands team including Rudolf van Ee and Caspar Roelofs who will be working on optimizing smart grids and redistributing excess energy using electric cars (Fossil Free Future track, Virtual Power Plant).
Blockchain Netherlands Foundation is a not-for-profit organization connecting blockchain projects, meetups, courses, and talent across the Netherlands, to increase collaborations between developers, educators, companies, banks, and regulators across the whole Netherlands. Their ultimate goal, to put the Netherlands on the map as the most blockchain-friendly country in Europe and an innovation hub for blockchain startups and projects.
Tracks’ Details and Links
sponsor: NUON/VATTENFALL
- Create the key enabler for energy transition
- Creating a mobile virtual power plant
- Build Unimaginable
21th Century Digital Citizenship
sponsor: Ministry of Interior and Kingdom relations
- Privacy Breach Detector
- New Gen Digital ID
sponsor: APG
- Manage your own retirement plan
- Value before retirement.
sponsor: KLM
- Safe communication of biometric data
Crisis and Disaster Management
sponsor: IFV
- Incentivizing sharing information on hazardous materials.
- Co-creating and sharing validated data during a disaster.
sponsor: Radboud University
Circular exchange of tokenized assets
sponsor: NUTRECO
Enabling a Sustainable, secure, fair food value chain.
- Scaling Wildlife protection
- Tokenizing the Odyssey Ecosystem
Digital Nation’s Infrastructure
sponsors: Kadaster, OCEAN, KvK, Ministry of Justice and Security
- Building distributed data ecosystem
- Becoming an oracle
- Government-backed protocol for digital permissions
sponsor: TVM
- Cargo insurance protocol for the world
Disclaimer
This article does is not constitute any kind of investment advice. Information and opinions contained herein should not be considered an endorsement, solicitation, or offer to buy or sell any securities or other financial instruments or provide any investment advice or service.
This article expresses the author’s views and experiences. Before taking any action, always do your own research and due diligence.
