Hacking The City | Design a Circular Future
Tondo - an international non-profit organization operating in the circular economy sector - is pleased to announce its first hackathon, organized in collaboration with the Circular Economy Lab of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Centre, Cariplo Factory and with the patronage of Cariplo Foundation.
The hackathon, aimed at university students, recent graduates and doctoral students from all over Italy, will have the circular city of the future as main topic. With 70% of the population becoming urban by 2050, cities are the starting point for transforming the current economic and social system towards a circular model for a more sustainable, green and inclusive future.
The event, which will be held entirely online, was in fact designed to conceive and support innovative and circular projects, involving the main Italian universities and some of the major companies operating in Italy in this field.
"The recent pandemic crisis has highlighted the problems of some traditional models for the creation of value and favoured of some new paradigms, certainly including the circular economy" - comments Carlo Mango, Director of Scientific and Technological Research of Cariplo Foundation. - "With Cariplo Foundation we have long been committed to developing knowledge and skills in this field and, for this very reason, we are happy to support Hacking the City, an initiative that aims to generate innovative ideas in a circular perspective within the urban system, context destined to be increasingly central in the field of sustainable growth ".
Eight macro-areas have been identified, within which challenges have been defined thanks to the involvement of industrial partners. These are Salvatore Ferragamo for the Consumer Goods area, Esselunga for the Food area, Arup for the Design area, Cisco for the Digital area, Mapei for the Buildings area, IREN for the Energy area, Punch Torino and TO.TEM for the Mobility area, and A2A for the Waste area.
Participants will have the opportunity to put their knowledge and passion for the circular economy into practice and they will be able to apply its principles to redesign the urban context by working on predefined challenges. The identified areas are central in order to design the circular city of the future, giving ample space to new technological and digital trends, enabling the transition to the circular economy.
"Circular economy is a radical innovation for the business models of companies, as well as
a strategic investment driver on the European agenda in the upcoming years. Thanks to initiatives such as Hacking the City we have the opportunity to redesign a circular urban context, capable of responding to the main economic, social and environmental challenges we are facing "- says Guido de Vecchi, General Manager of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center.
In addition to the industrial partners, some of the main Italian universities are involved, such as the Polytechnic University of Bari, the University of Bari, the University of Bologna, the Insubria University, the University of Genoa, ALMED (Alta Scuola in Media, Communication and Entertainment), the University of Naples, the University of Pavia, the University of Pisa, the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo, the University of Siena, the IUAV University of Venice and the Ca 'Foscari University from Venice.
In addition, the hackathon provides for a strong involvement of other actors who will support the young participants in the refinement of their projects. Professors, associates of Tondo, team of experts from the Circular Economy Lab, members of the ASP Alta Scuola Politecnica, Alumni Association and Global Shapers Torino will be tutors and mentors for the students during the two days of the Hackathon.
The challenges have already been published on the hackathon website in order to give potential participants time to develop a possible solution to be completed and refined during the days of the hackathon together with tutors and mentors.
At the end of the two days, each team will present a pitch deck that will describe in detail their solution to the selected challenge. A jury of experts, created specifically for each challenge, will analyse the projects and nominate the winning teams. The deserving ones will subsequently be rewarded by the companies promoting the challenge; the prizes range from internship opportunities to selected products, to training courses and to accompanying the project idea.
"Hacking The City - Design a Circular future - explains Francesco Castellano, Founder and President of Tondo - is the first Italian hackathon focusing on Circular Economy in Italy and is a unique opportunity to accelerate the transition towards a more sustainable and fair, embracing a paradigm shift as the new Circular Economy Action Plan requires of us. "
Circularity, innovation, relevance and impact will be the criteria that will guide the jury in the selection of the winning teams.
The hackathon is a unique opportunity to accelerate the implementation of the most innovative projects in collaboration with market leaders and represents an opportunity to promote the sharing of knowledge, tools and skills towards a more sustainable and circular city.
For further information: https://www.hackingthecity.today/