FAQ

A hackathon (a word created from “hack” and “marathon”) is a collaborative solution development event. The goal of a hackathon is to jointly find useful, creative or entertaining solutions to given problems in a limited period of time. Participants in hackathons usually come from different areas and countries and often work on their projects in cross-functional teams.

We are hoping to form 10 groups of 2 to 3 entrepreneurs each. So, a maximum of 30 young innovators from the Mediterranean countries will participate. When applying, your team must have at least 2 members.

We have 8 teams of 3 to 6 entrepreneurs each participating in the Bootcamp. So, a maximum of 40 young innovators from the Mediterranean region will participate.

Yes. In order to participate you must be 18 to 35 years old. Regardless of your place of residence, applicants must be nationals from one of the following Mediterranean countries: EU Countries, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia and Turkey. There is not a specific professional background required. You can be a graduate or student, with any type of education, such as water, sanitation, business development, programming, marketing, social studies, engineering, architects, political science, etc. The most important requisites for participation are motivation, interest in solving water and climate change challenges and entrepreneurial spirit. Multicultural-teams and women are encouraged to apply.

No. The participation in the Hackathon is free of charge. Please note that for the hackathon in Marocco we will cover the travel and accommodation cost of two/three members per team. The other members of your team are welcome but will have to cover their own costs.

No, you can not apply as a single person. When applying, your team must have at least 2 members. Make sure you know the email addresses of all your team members before you sign up. In the application form you have the possibility to enter the names and email addresses of your team members.

Yes, sure! We are looking for innovators with ideas to develop during the Hackathon. In the application form you can already describe your solution/idea. We will select the 10 most promising ideas.

The moderation, input sessions and team activities will be held in English. So, we require participants to understand and are able to communicate in English. Keep in mind that we will have participants from all over the Mediterranean Region, so not all will understand your mother tongue. However, if there is another common language in your team, the teams can also work in another national language. Although some of our mentors speak Arabic, we cannot guarantee that the experts and mentors will be able to support you in the chosen language.

The best teams will be invited to join us on an online 2-days bootcamp! You will benefit from a tailored advanced entrepreneurial support programme alongside your peers, experts and senior trainers from all over the region. Besides in-depth training, you will receive one-on-one coaching to help you take your idea to the next level

The Intellectual Property (IP) of your solution belongs to you and your team. As we are trying to propose solutions to water and climate change challenges in the Mediterranean Region through collective intelligence, we would encourage you to provide open-source information, so in case you don’t continue with the idea, some other entrepreneur in other geographic region can. On the other hand, having it online might be a great reference to find funding opportunities. In any case, in your solution board, you will let us know if we can publish it online, or not.

Our aim is that the results will be practically used after the Hackathon to help overcoming water and climate change challenges in the Mediterranean Region. To make sure that your prototypes become viable solutions after the hackathon, you could receive support from our start-up program. Just get in touch with us.

The financial support is aimed for the development of the idea and/or implementation of the prototype in the community. The funding is conditional upon the team’s committed participation in the coaching sessions and bootcamp, a proposed implementation plan that meets quality and feasibility expectations and genuinely seeks to improve the quality of life for families in vulnerable situations, need for the funds, and the willingness to continue with the business idea.