CALL FOR PROJECTS : Hackathon Himaya Innov’Days 2024

IMPORTANT DATES :

Call for projects : 30/11/2023
Opening of preregistration and project submission : 14/12/23
Closing date for submissions : 18/01/2024
Preselection : 01/02/2024
Schedule of the Hackathon : March 04-06, 2024
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In the face of a changing world, disasters, whether natural or man-made, remain one of the most pressing threats to the safety and well-being of communities. Forest fires, floods, devastating earthquakes, pandemics (Covid-19), industrial accidents, and many other tragic events regularly test our ability to prevent, respond to, and recover from them. In this context, technological advances play a crucial role in improving our ability to cope with disasters. Monitoring, communication, and crisis management technologies help strengthen our ability to anticipate disasters, coordinate our response efforts, and accelerate the process of resilience.

In each phase of a disaster, technologies can be exploited. For example, in the pre-disaster phase, technologies can be used to monitor weather conditions, detect natural disaster risks and improve infrastructure design. Early warning systems can also be useful in alerting people of the risks of natural disasters before they occur. During crises, technologies can be used to facilitate the coordination of relief, locate victims, determine needs, etc. Finally, in the post-crisis phase disaster, technologies such as drones can be used to provide medical assistance in disaster-affected areas, and other technologies such as virtual or augmented reality can serve to train and prepare first responders to deal with emergency situations.

From this perspective, and as part of the national study days on the perspectives of Algerian Civil Protection to adapt to modern scientific and technological developments, the CERIST (Research Centre on Scientific and Technical Information), in collaboration with the Algerian Civil Protection, the University Yahia Farès of Medea, and the DGRSDT (Directorate-General for Scientific Research and Technological Development) is organizing a hackathon with the following main objectives:
Drive innovation by bringing together creative minds to solve complex disaster management problems;

Drive innovation by bringing together creative minds to solve complex disaster management problems;
Foster interdisciplinary and cross-sectional collaboration to develop innovative solutions for emergency situations;
Develop functional prototypes and practical and operational ideas to address the specific challenges of disaster management;
Create an environment conducive to learning, experimentation and development of concrete and functional solutions dedicated to disaster management;
Encourage entrepreneurship and advance ideas and support initiatives that have a positive impact on society in the field of civil protection.

MAIN TRACKS

# Track 1: Forest fires

Forest fires represent a serious threat to the economy, the environment, and, unfortunately, too often, to human lives. In order to better understand the spread and evolution of fires, to identify areas at risk, to provide support to civil protection teams engaged in the fight against flames, and ultimately, to save lives, new technologies are positioned as valuable tools to optimize prevention and control approaches and prioritize interventions.

# Track 2: Flooding

Floods are a major risk on the national territory. Once triggered, the flood phenomenon quickly becomes difficult to control and this can lead to significant property damage and consequent loss of life. Providing predictive mapping of floods and an accurate assessment of their impacts on the population, buildings and critical infrastructure become necessary to control these disasters and limit their impacts. Exploitation of modern technologies such as artificial intelligence, computer vision (image analysis) and numerical modeling can provide access to new environmental measures and provide new information, not only to help predict immediate flood threats, but also to improve prevention strategies, of anticipation and intervention.

# Track 3:

This track aims at exploring innovative solutions to provide effective and accessible psychological support to people affected by disasters. The aim is to develop innovative technological solutions that enable first responders to provide immediate psychological support, as well as longer-term monitoring of disaster-related trauma. Participants are encouraged to think creatively and integrate technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), virtual or augmented reality, as well as data analysis, to design customized solutions tailored to the specific needs of victims of disaster-related trauma.

# Track 4: Open track (Other natural and technological risks)

This track deliberately left open, aims to stimulate the creativity of participants by exploring solutions related to societal challenges such as technological risks or other emerging natural risks. The goal is to foster innovative ideas and approaches that can better understand, prevent and mitigate these risks while focusing on integrated and holistic solutions. Participants are encouraged to take a holistic view to build resilience to the multiple challenges of these emerging risks.

TECHNOLOGIES OF INTEREST

Artificial Intelligence (machine learning, deep learning, generative AI, etc.);
Mobile applications and digital platforms for coordination and communication between disaster management actors;
Advanced networks: IoT, 5G, ad hoc networks, remote sensing, etc.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS);
Open Source/Open Data/Open Innovation
Social networks, sentiment analysis and crowdsourcing;
Evacuation and rescue systems;
Big Data Analytics and Data Mining
Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality/Extended Reality;
Simulation of the effects of natural and technological disasters (forest fires, floods, earthquakes, technological hazards, etc.);
Disaster modeling and simulation;
Autonomous vehicles (drones) and robots;
Remote Sensing and Satellite Imagery;
Early warning systems;
Digital twins

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Ali AMRAOUI, Direction Générale de la Protection Civile (DGPC)
Djamal BELAZZOUGUI, CERIST
Tarek BELHACHEMI, Direction Générale de la Protection civile de la Wilaya de Médéa
Kahina BENABDERRAHIM eps OUAZZOUG, CERIST
Khedidja BENNADJI, CERIST
Nadir BOUCHAMA, CERIST
Wahiba BOUZAROUR, CERIST
Messaoud CHAA, CERIST
Abdelfetah HENTOUT, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Technologies Avancées (ENSTA)
Rezki OULD MOHAMED, CERIST
Hocine SAADI, CERIST
Allal TIBERKAK, Université Yahia Farès de Médéa
Saïd YAHIAOUI, CERIST
Bilal YALAOUI, CERIST

PARTICIPATION

# Who can participate ?
The hackathon is open to a broad range of participants, including:

PhD students, undergraduate students;
Researchers;
Practitioners, developers and designers;
Anyone with a passion for new technologies and innovative solutions.

# Conditions of participation
Pre-registration online within the deadline;

Online pre-registration within the deadline;
The idea of the project must fit within the objectives and themes of the hackathon;
To encourage new and innovative solutions, the idea must not be brought or supported by a startup or an already established commercial company;
Compliance with applicable laws;
The equipment provided by each team must not represent any danger to the participants and its dimensions must not exceed the following limits: 1 cubic metre;
Be of Algerian nationality or reside in Algeria.

# Team building
Each participating team must have between two and four members;

# Evaluation criteria

Feasibility;
Maturity (existence of a prototype);
Originality;
Relevance (to civil protection).

ORGANIZERS

Research Centre on Scientific and Technical Information (CERIST)
University of Medea
Directorate-General for Civil Protection (DGPC)
Directorate-General for Scientific Research and Technological Development (DGRSDT)

CONTACT
E-mail: himaya-innov@cerist.dz
Website: http://himaya-innov.cerist.dz/

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24 December 2023 |