The story of the Applied Data Hackathon
Empowering data-driven innovation
“Data is the new gold,” said Thomas Brüse, Managing Partner of Quick Move — one of the partners who set a challenge for the Applied Data Hackathon — itself acting as the gateway to the Applied Data Incubator in Berlin. This is the essence of the reasoning behind the Applied Data Incubator, the Berlin-based six month program that was top prize for competing hackathon teams in early 2022. In total 100 applicants entered from over 40 different countries and were whittled down to 9 teams who pitched at the grand finale ‘Pitch Day’ on March 7, 2022. After an expert jury evaluated each team, a select group was invited to join the brand new program in Berlin. This is the story of how the newest incubator hit the streets of Berlin and made vibrations in as far away places as Panama, Thailand, Uganda and India.
The Applied Data Hackathon acted as the gateway to the Applied Data Incubator. This program, built by experienced Startup Colors empowers first-time founders in creating and launching their business in Germany. Much like their other successful program, Vision Health Pioneers Incubator, the Applied Data Incubator provides everything that’s needed to achieve success. Teams are provided with coaching from various business experts, mentoring in core areas from a growing community, social events that provide some downtime, scholarship funding of 12,000 euros per person (non-equity and non-refundable), free coworking space at The Drivery in Berlin and much more.
This is why so many came to compete in the Applied Data Hackathon, the opportunity to have all of this access and knowledge in a condensed period is quite unique. The incubator is supported by the European Union, European Social Fund and the State of Berlin. In October 2022 the second cohort will begin their journey into the Applied Data Incubator and receive support for six months.
Applied Data Hackathon
The brand new hackathon exploded onto the startup scene when over 200 participants registered for the very first online meetup. Guests from around the world dialled in to discover the data challenges that were being set for the Applied Data Hackathon, met the partners supporting the project and heard more about the prizes up for grabs.
These challenges included machine data and machine learning in the area of predictive maintenance, set by QuickMove GmbH and in manufacturing and logistics, object classification in real environments delivered by the University of St.Gallen. Alerting for emerging topics was powered by ITONICS and achieving vision zero by utilising traffic monitoring data with Mobilitybox API provided by Vesputi. Teams were also invited to submit their own projects in the fields of smart city and mobility, logistics, manufacturing and agriculture.
Only teams of 2 to 4 people could take the top prize of entering the Applied Data Incubator, so this was an essential step and ensured more of the 100 applicants could get fully involved.
The hackathon then kicked off with workshops, morning stand-ups meetings, deep dive sessions and regular Slack communication. Teams were provided with access from not only coaching experts in business topics but also access to a range of mentors. On top of all of these knowledge sources, each team was provided with tools such as their own Mural boards to work on and Zoom access. Plus coworking space at Drivery in Berlin for those who could travel to Berlin.
As the teams worked all hours to compete for the prizes on offer, a top jury of experts was coming together to evaluate their presentations and make the final decisions. This included Deutsche Bahn, Berliner Senatsverwaltung für Wirtschaft, Energie und Betriebe, Institute of Computer Science, University of St.Gallen, Celfocus and many more.
Under these experienced eyes and a hybrid audience, the teams took to the stage at Drivery and pitched their projects. With moderation from Applied Data Incubator Communications Manager, Ben V Butler, guests were provided with insights into the Applied Data Incubator, the top jury and the teams. After a thrilling non-stop showcase of data-driven projects, the jury made their decisions and then the moment came that everyone had been waiting for. The winners!
The winning teams were…
🏆 Hyperfleet
🏆 Composite Vision
🏆 Panos. AI
🏆 ClearCO2
🏆 Kapsola
🏆 Hyperspace
🏆 AI Anomaly Detector
They were all invited to go through the eligibility criteria process to join the Applied Data Incubator in April or October 2022. A further two teams, MoveQuickly and Archimedes, won a 500 Euro Conference Voucher and Special Coaching, worth 400 Euro respectively.
The Applied Data Hackathon received numerous praise from attendees and a summary featured in a leading online data publication. Be part of the exciting part of the journey by registering for the newsletter.
