Back to news
25 Apr 2016 | Press releases

Young minds collaborate to solve global challenges

3 mins Read

70% Complete
Winners of the International Space Apps Challenge – Kathmandu with Mr Satish Gautam, National Programme Manager, RERL/AEPC and Dr Eklabya Sharma, Director of Programme Operations, ICIMOD. Photo: Jitendra Raj Bajracharya, ICIMOD

 

The International Space Apps Challenge (ISAC) hackathon was held in Kathmandu for the fourth time from 23 to 24 April 2016. The event was organized by SERVIR Hindu Kush Himalaya programme of ICIMOD and the Renewable Energy for Rural Livelihood (RERL) programme of the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) in collaboration with YoungInnovations. It was supported by Robotics Association of Nepal (RAN), Women Leaders in Technology (WLIT) and CSIT Association of Nepal (CSITAN).

This year the hackathon was held in more than 160 locations around the world. The event brought together young and creative minds to find innovative solutions to global challenges.

The International Space Apps Challenge is an international mass collaboration focused on space exploration that takes place over 48 hours in cities around the world. The event embraces collaborative problem solving with the goal of producing relevant open-source solutions to address global needs applicable to both life on Earth and life in space. This was the fifth time it was organized worldwide. This year there were over 28 challenges in six areas: Technology, Aeronautics, Space Station, Solar System, Earth, and Journey to Mars. NASA is leading this global collaboration along with a number of government collaborators and around 200 local organizing teams across the globe. In addition to the global challenges, RERL/AEPC and ICIMOD provided six local challenges. The challenges focused on finding innovative ways to improve the energy sector and disaster prevention in Nepal.

This year we had 63 participants (53 male and 10 female) in ISAC Kathmandu. They included beginners as well as experts in the field of technology. The participants formed 16 teams; 10 of them worked on global challenges while the remaining 6 addressed the local challenges.

This year ‘Smart Nepali’, ‘API’ and ‘Visually (IM)paired’ won the first, second and third prizes respectively. The prizes were worth NPR 30,000, NPR 20,000, and NPR 10,000 respectively. Team ‘Smart Nepali’ worked on the local challenge set by ICIMOD, which involved developing a prototype system for landslide early warning detection. Team ‘API’ developed an easy-to-use mobile-based offline data collection survey tool – a challenge set by RERL/AEPC. Team ‘Visually (IM)paired’ came up with a hardware gadget – a glove that can assist visually impaired people in reading, typing and navigation.

Teams ‘Visually (IM)paired’ and ‘Kaaikaas’ have been nominated for Global Judging this year. ‘First Attempt’ won the People’s Choice Award and has also been nominated for the International People’s Choice Award. The team developed a smartphone app and a website that provide livelihood-related information and resources.Kaaikaas has built a simulated 3D model of Mars terrain which can be viewed using VR gears like Google cardboard.

Dr Eklabya Sharma, Director of Programme Operations at ICIMOD, said the hackathon encouraged young minds to find creative solutions to challenges faced by our society. He expressed his interest in supporting relevant proposals in areas that ICIMOD works in, such as climate change and disaster response. Satish Gautam, National Programme Manager at RERL/AEPC, shared his enthusiasm for collaborating with the teams to come up with innovative solutions to problems in Nepal. Bibhusan Bista, CEO of YoungInnovations, expressed his appreciation for the public-private partnership that had made the event possible and encouraged participants to utilise the opportunity for a bigger and better purpose.

We are delighted with the partnership and participation this year and hope to organize the event in the coming years as well.

For more information, please contact:

Nira Gurung, Senior Communications Officer, ICIMOD;
nira.gurung@icimod.org
Tel. +977 1 5003222; Ext. 115
Prawesh Shrestha, YoungInnovations Pvt. Ltd.,
prawesh.shrestha@yipl.com.np;
Tel. +977-1-5008737; 9841223173

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

Related contents

Continue exploring this topic

16 May 2023 Press releases
New fire risk system rolled out as forest fires up by 76.7% in Nepal

Kathmandu, 15 May 2023: Forest fires across Nepal dramatically rose by 76.5% between January and April 2023 – when compared ...

6 Dec 2017 Press releases
MOPE, EU, and ICIMOD host international conference on resilient HKH

After four days of invigorating discussion on resilience issues in the Hindu Kush Himalaya, Nepal’s Ministry of Population and the ...

22 Feb 2021 Press releases
ICIMOD’s Adaptation Fund accreditation paves the way for strengthened regional cooperation on climate change adaptation in the HKH

On 17th February 2021, the Adaptation Fund Board announced its decision to accredit the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development ...

27 Sep 2014 Press releases
Young professionals learn new ideas on enhancing adaptation in the mountains

Forty-seven young professionals convened at the headquarters of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu, Nepal ...

18 Jan 2015 Press releases
Symposium calls for transboundary cooperation in ‘Transforming Mountain Forestry’

‘Managing Himalayan forest ecosystems on a transboundary scale is critical for mitigating the impact of climate change for sustaining ecosystem ...

13 Dec 2018 Press releases
Tackling human-wildlife conflict and wildlife crime in a shared transboundary landscape

Speaking at the Reconciling Human-Wildlife Interface in the Kangchenjunga Landscape: Regional Dialogue for Action event organized by West Bengal Forest ...

14 Mar 2018 Press releases
Tackling poverty in a rapidly changing world: Experts recommend a collective response to common ecosystem risks

South Asia faces the challenge of tackling persistent poverty at a time of rapid and large-scale changes in social, environmental, ...