Registrations are open for Climathon 2019, the world's biggest climate hackathon that is coming to Sydney this year. 

Held on October 25-26, Sydney will join this initiative for the third consecutive year for its biggest edition yet, with over 100 participants expected to attend. 

Each participating city proposes its own local climate challenge, and the hackathon is designed around this challenge. This year, the challenge proposed by the city concerns how we might leverage data and technology to develop new solutions that improve Sydney’s resilience to heatwaves.

“Extreme heat is a major concern if we want to make sure Sydney continues to be a place of opportunity and wellbeing for everyone. Climathon is a major opportunity for Sydney to work together as a community to find solutions that could help the city meet the challenges of a changing climate,” says Christopher Lee, CEO of Climate KIC Australia. 

Heatwaves can have a significant impact on human health and are estimated to cause more illnesses and deaths in Australia than any other natural hazard. There are limited data-driven solutions, particularly predictive tools, to mitigate against the adverse impacts of heatwaves. The Climathon is hoping to change that. Munich Re, the major sponsor of Climathon in Sydney, will be making available their place-based data for predicting extreme heat events for participants to work with as they design their solutions. 

During the event, participants will work in teams guided by experts, creating solutions and developing them in the form of tangible projects during this day. These experts will also act as mentors in each of the solution ideation working groups, accompanying the participants during the development of the idea. 

The event will conclude with teams delivering their pitch for the idea they have been working on over the course of the two days. Winning pitches will get access to prizes, including priority access to ClimateLaunchpad, Climate-KIC Australia’s pre-acceleration green business ideas competition, as well as opportunities to further develop their ideas through Munich Re and Resilient Sydney pathways.

The event is free to attend click here to register.