Tech Toledo is helping organize ErieHack Toledo, an innovation competition to address Lake Erie water challenges, as part of a larger ErieHack competition, with $100,000 in prizes.
The ErieHack Water Data and Engineering Hackathon is a tech-driven water innovation competition and accelerator program that will bring together software developers, engineers, data experts, water professionals and concerned citizens to generate creative solutions to Lake Erie’s biggest challenges. The ErieHack competition includes regional competitions also happening in Detroit, Windsor, Cleveland, Erie, and Buffalo.
During the Toledo hackathon, participants will form teams of up to five people to tackle the competition challenges. The teams will then have 48 hours to develop their project as much as possible and present their work on Sunday the 26th. The best teams as determined by a panel of judges will move on to a semifinal in Detroit in April and the final summit in Cleveland in May. There’s $100,000 in prizes up for grabs.
Learn more about ErieHack at eriehack.io.
If you have been to a Startup Weekend, it is sort of like that, too.
If you want to participate, RSVP for the hackathon at Eventbrite. You can also register at eriehack.io now (or you can register later, at the hackathon).
If you have technical skills, such as computer programming, that you are willing to share with the participants, we also need mentors for the hackathon. Teams might need help building a web site, coding a mobile app, or transforming water data. You can sign up as a mentor at eriehack.io. You can contribute as much or as little time as you want during the hackathon: you do not have to be there the whole 48 hours. You can even mentor from home: you do not even have to be at the hackathon location.
Finally, you can also just attend the closing ceremonies, where the teams pitch their work and judges select winners. RSVP for the presentations and judging and then show up at Nitschke Technology Commercialization Complex (1510 N Westwood Ave.) at The University of Toledo at 4pm on Sunday, March 26th to see the show.