November 09, 2016
Accenture Digital Connected Hackathon Launched with Expo 2020 Dubai to Inspire International Collaboration and Innovation
- Talented young people from eight cities are invited to compete for total prize equivalent to €15,000, and potential job offers at Accenture
- Theme will be Connect. Collaborate. Create inspired by Expo 2020 Dubai, with winning team given chance to present to organizers of Expo 2020
- Register free of charge at accenture.ae/DigitalHackathon until 22 November
DUBAI, Nov. 9, 2016 – Accenture has launched its first ever international connected hackathon, in collaboration with Expo 2020 Dubai, pitting talented young people from eight cities in Europe and Middle East against each other. Participants in Rome, London, Madrid, Amsterdam, Dortmund, Prague, Istanbul and Dubai will join the 24-hour challenge on 26/ 27 November. The competition is open to young graduates and undergraduates with expertise in development, design and marketing.
The Accenture Digital Connected Hackathon, the theme of which is “Connect. Collaborate. Create” draws its inspiration directly from Expo 2020 Dubai’s core theme ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’. The competition aims to encourage collaboration and inspire the creation of social innovation projects for a more inclusive future.
Participants will be asked to focus on the three themes at the centre of the World Expo to be held in Dubai in 2020:
- Opportunity: to increase access to employment and reduce the digital divide
- Mobility: to eliminate physical and technological barriers that impede the productive flow of goods, people and ideas and improve the handling of emergencies
- Sustainability: to promote sustainable lifestyles and boost awareness of the impact of climate change
They will have to build innovative, scalable and replicable application prototypes by using technologies such as the sensors and connected devices that help make up the Internet of Things, Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented and Virtual Reality and blockchains.
Jean Pierre Bokobza, senior managing director, Accenture Digital, said: “ Our professionals work to realise the immense potential of digital technologies every day. By combining our expertise in mobility, analytics and digital marketing, we focus on helping clients accelerate business innovation and growth.
This eight city ‘connected hackathon’ will replicate the collaborative spirit and approach to openness that Accenture professionals embrace to deliver real digital innovation.”
Hala Ghandour, Chief Development Officer at Expo 2020 Dubai said: “ Technology connects us more closely than ever. It enables us to communicate and cooperate in ways that can change our lives. Expo 2020 Dubai is excited to be collaborating with Accenture in its connected hackathon. We look forward to exploring ideas and innovations that could shape our World Expo in 2020.”
The Accenture Digital Connected Hackathon is open to teams of talented young people (with three to five members), and individual participants. Each location will be virtually connected, and there will be an alternating series of games, known as “hackgames”, and in-depth “Live talks,” consisting of lessons tutored by digital experts.
During the competition, experts from Accenture will mentor participating teams and individuals, helping to define and develop their project concepts. The projects will be assessed according to the strength of their concept, design and development, and each will be presented to a local jury composed of representatives of Expo 2020 Dubai, experts from different partners in each country and Accenture Digital team members.
The prizes will be awarded to the three highest ranked projects in each city, with the overall winning entries chosen from the first place local winners by an international panel of judges. In addition, Expo 2020 Dubai will award a special prize, the chance to present the winning project to the organisers of Expo 2020.
Individual participants whose teamwork, problem-solving and goal orientation impress the judges, and whose profiles are in line with Accenture’s recruitment plans in the participating countries, may be offered internships or employment in Accenture Digital, or elsewhere in the company.
Registration for the Hackathon is completely free of charge and is open until 22 November at: accenture.ae/DigitalHackathon
To keep up to date with the Accenture Digital Connected Hackathon , follow: #AccentureDigiHack on social media.
Watch the video presentation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbeGR7sZ7rA&feature=youtu.be.
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business functions – underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network – Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their stakeholders. With approximately 384,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.
Accenture Digital , comprised of Accenture Analytics, Accenture Interactive and Accenture Mobility, offers a comprehensive portfolio of business and technology services across digital marketing, mobility and analytics. From developing digital strategies to implementing digital technologies and running digital processes on their behalf, Accenture Digital helps clients leverage connected and mobile devices; extract insights from data using analytics; and enrich end-customer experiences and interactions, delivering tangible results from the virtual world and driving growth. To learn more about Accenture Digital, follow us @AccentureDigi and visit www.accenture.com/digital.
About Expo 2020 Dubai
Expo 2020 Dubai is guided by the belief that innovation and progress are the result of people and ideas combining in new ways. Over the course of six months from October 2020, Expo aims to bring together hundreds of countries and millions of people to celebrate human ingenuity: ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’.
- Between its opening day on 20 October 2020, and its close on 10 April 2021, we expect Expo to be visited 25 million times.
- 70% of all visitors are expected to come from outside the UAE – the largest proportion of international visitors in Expo history.
- We aim to create and deliver an inclusive and global Expo with over 200 participants, including nations, multilateral organisations, businesses and educational institutions.
- Expo 2020 also has an ambitious volunteer programme, which aims to include more than 30,000 volunteers from a wide range of ages, nationalities and cultures and backgrounds.
- The Expo site covers a total of 4.38 sq. km, including a 2 sq. km gated area. It is located within the Dubai South District, adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport.
About World Expos
In 1851 the Crystal Palace was the centrepiece of London’s Great Exhibition - the first World Expo. It celebrated the man-made industrial wonders of a rapidly changing world. Architecture, contents and a theme, ‘Industry of All Nations’, coalesced to create a big idea of nations meeting nations in shared technological and commercial progress. In more recent years, participants in World Expos, including governments, international organisations and companies, have gathered to promote their achievements, products, ideas, innovations, their national brand, and their nations as destinations for tourism, trade and investment.
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Contacts:
Giulia Marcolli
Accenture
+ 39 0277758931
giulia.marcolli@accenture.com
Theodore Halabi
Accenture
+ 971 50 662 7053
theodore.halabi@accenture.com