CODE 4 NATURE - Solutions for a Sustainable World

A Coding Challenge

Welcome to "CODE 4 NATURE" – an innovative coding challenge dedicated to leveraging technology and creativity to address pressing environmental challenges. In an era marked by ecological crises, it's imperative that we harness the power of coding and digital innovation to foster sustainability and protect our planet's biodiversity.

CODE for NATURE aims to bring together developers, designers, data analysts, environmental enthusiasts, and problem-solvers from diverse backgrounds to collaborate on solutions that promote conservation, sustainability, and environmental awareness. Whether you're a professional coder or a newcomer with a passion for nature, this coding challenge provides a unique platform to make a meaningful impact.

Registration closed

Download Brochure

 

Themes

Participants are encouraged to focus on one or more from a wide range of themes related to environmental preservation and sustainability, including but not limited to:

  • Biodiversity conservation
  • Sustainable agriculture and food systems
  • Conservation technology (e.g., IoT, remote sensing, AI)
  • Environmental education and awareness
  • Climate change mitigation and adaptation

 

Possible outputs

The submission must be original work such as

  • Tools for Collating various kind of Ecological Data
  • Databases from day to day information (like online newspaper/articles, etc) for decision making (including regional languages)
  • Mobile apps and web apps for crowd sourcing specific data
  • Analysis using remote sensing data to solve problems for nature governance
  • Web tools for actionable outputs from open data (using open APIs)
  • Algorithms for making open data actionable
  • Use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for any output on a regular basis
  • Dashboards for public use utilising open data

 

Format

  • Teams: Participants can form teams of 2-4 members. Interdisciplinary and gender diverse teams are highly encouraged. Active participation of each member is appreciated.
  • Registration: Teams should register using this google form. Teams that have registered successfully would be invited to participate in the challenge and provided additional information regarding the challenge.
  • Venue: The participants should be Indian citizens who are at least 18 years of age. They are free to participate from anywhere in the world.
  • Duration: The coding challenge will span nine days, including two weekends, providing ample time for ideation, development, and presentation.
  • Submissions: Apart from the actual output being submitted (app, site, dashboard etc.), a summary of the entry should be provided in the prescribed format. The format would be shared with registered teams before the coding challenge begins.
  • Presentations: Shortlisted teams would have an opportunity to present their submissions to the Jury members (In-person or online – to be decided).
  • Prizes: Exciting prizes will be awarded to winning teams, including opportunities for volunteering/internships in FES.
  • Judging Criteria: Projects will be evaluated based on relevance, innovation, feasibility, impact, reliability, scalability, presentation quality, originality etc.

 

Considerations

  • User friendliness
  • Products that are automated would be preferred over those that need manual intervention. E.g. link through APIs rather than manual upload of data from time to time.
  • Using free and open source (FOSS) tools and services would be preferred over proprietary ones, although it is not mandatory. Documenting the code clearly.
  • FES promotes Gender, Diversity and Inclusion in all its activities.

 

Why Participate?

  • Make a Difference: Your skills and creativity can contribute to real-world solutions for environmental challenges.
  • Networking: Connect with like-minded individuals, industry experts, and potential collaborators.
  • Learning Opportunities: Gain valuable insights into environmental issues and cutting-edge technologies.
  • Prizes and Recognition: Win prizes and recognition for your innovative solutions. All successful submissions would be shared on www.indiaobservatory.org.in

 

Prizes

Exciting prizes will be awarded to winning teams –

  • First prize: INR. 1,00,000/-
  • Second Prize: INR. 50,000/-
  • Third Prize: INR. 25,000/-
  • E-certificates would be provided to all teams making final submissions

 

Key Dates

  • Register on or before 16th June 2024 to be part of this transformative journey towards a sustainable future.
  • Competition - 22nd June to 1st July 2024
  • Submission of the product along with the process documentation – 1st July, 2024.
  • Announcement of results: By mid September, 2024

 

Licensing and attribution

Entries submitted for the challenge including code, datasets, multimedia content etc. need to be licensed under a CC-BY-NC or CC-BY license. Selected outputs/tools may be used, modified or improved upon by the Foundation for Ecological Security at its discretion subject to licensing conditions. FES will not monetise the product in anyway, but would provide the product/tools for public use hosted on the India Observatory Platform. Participants must clearly document the source and licensing terms and conditions of any external data or code that they utilise in creating the project. Participants must ensure that submissions are not copies of already existing products but are original works.

 

Contact Us

For enquiries, please contact code4nature@fes.org.in

-

Let's CODE 4 NATURE and create a greener, more sustainable world together!

 

The India Observatory, led by Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), is a collaborative action-oriented tech initiative. It aims to demystify and present comprehensive information on India’s social, ecological and economic parameters on a single spatial and temporal platform.

About Us
Follow Us