EdTech Estonia, representing educational innovation companies, invites you to participate in a 48-hour global hackathon, which will bring 14-16 until October as a virtual event with a total of nearly 60 teams and 300 participants from more than 40 countries.
According to the chancellor of the Ministry of Education and Research, Kristi Vinter-Nemvalts , the Estonian education system is highly valued in the world, but for its continued development, we must also look to the future.
"We want to be the world's leading education country also in the information age. Educational technology allows students to organize their time better and acquire what they learn in an engaging way, while helping to save teachers' valuable time and to organize the school's work more efficiently. The need for digital solutions that support students and teachers is growing, and I encourage everyone interested to contribute to the education of the future," said Vinter-Nemvalts.
The purpose of the hackathon organized by EdTech Estonia is to develop and test new ideas in a team within 48 hours that improve access to education or offer solutions to existing problems. The deadline to submit your teams and ideas is October 9.
"We are looking for innovative educational solutions with the educational technology hackathon. Experienced entrepreneurs, educational technologists, starting startups and school students are welcome to hack with their own ideas. How can we continue to innovate education through the creation of new services and ensure that our society has the knowledge and skills to cope with the challenges of the future as successfully as possible?" said Maria Rahamägi , the main organizer of the event, the founder of the educational initiative Edumus .
Money wisdom teacher Mart Vainu participated in the EdTech Hack program last year and invested the prize money in making the first prototype. "I am very glad that we participated in the hackathon with the Cashy money game, because it contributed to the development of the company and was an exciting experience. We found two awesome people in the team who later helped develop the game. In addition, we won participation in a three-month mentoring program, which was helpful when we now raised money from investors," said Vainu.
In order to support the development of ideas into a prototype, workshops on problem validation, business models and presentation of business ideas will take place within the framework of the hackathon. The teams are supported by experienced entrepreneurs and specialists, such as Tõnis Kusmin , Jaanika Merilo , Oleg Shvaikovsky , Kadri Tuisk , among others .
The Häkaton prize fund is more than 17,000 euros, the main prize in the amount of 8,000 euros has been awarded by the Ministry of Education and Science. This year, when evaluating the winners, the ministry's focus is on the evidence-based nature of the solutions being developed. With this, the teams participating in the hackathon are encouraged to consider the connections of solutions with scientific research in the field when developing their products and services.
This educational technology hackathon is held as an online event and is aimed at participants from Estonia and neighboring countries. The event takes place in English, but the vast majority of mentors also instruct the teams in Estonian.
Startup Estonia, the startup unit of the EAS and KredEx joint institution, and the Ministry of Education and Science help to conduct the hackathon. EdTech Estonia is an umbrella organization of Estonian educational technology companies that brings together 42 different education promotion companies.
More information and registration can be found on the https://hack.edtechestonia.org/
