Yalla...

Amman, Jordan
Mar 2 - 4 @ ZINC

Registration is closed

Event Description

The Netherlands Embassy of Amman is opening their doors to local entrepreneurs, engineers, and technologists to help them develop innovative solutions to key development and humanitarian issues negatively impacting communities in Jordan and beyond.

From Mar 2-4th, at Zain Innovation Campus, Netherlands diplomats and challenge area experts will be on hand to collaborate with participants and help drive high-impact solutions to these complex issues.

The top competing teams will receive cash prizes and additional in-kind support to help fuel the further development of their hackathon prototypes.

ourMENA Amman is your opportunity to play a more active role in helping build a smarter, healthier, and more prosperous Jordan and MENA for all of its inhabitants.

We look forward to welcoming you and seeing what new ideas and technologies you develop during this weekend innovation journey.

Challenge Areas

Additional challenges will be added to the below list as the Netherlands Embassy continues to engage with public and private sector partners. New challenge updates for your city will be broadcasted on our event page and via email to all registered attendees. Participants are also allowed to hack on challenges from other ourMENA competition locations (Beirut)

  1. Being water smart

    Jordan is the 3rd poorest country in the world in terms of water resources. What role can technology play in helping Jordanians be more efficient with how they use water at an individual, communal, and country-wide level?

  2. Rules of origin - a big opportunity with a host of challenges

    The EU has recently agreed to relax the Rules of Origin on Jordanian exports to allow for easier trade access into the EU market, and thus greater economic opportunities for local manufacturers and producers in Jordan. However, one of the major pieces to the new agreement is that Syrians must make up at least 15% of the exporting company’s workforce, which will grow to a 25% requirement by year three of the agreement. Many Jordanian companies wishing to take advantage of the new agreement struggle to meet the 15% Syrian workforce requirement even though there are thousands of Syrians looking for work. Additionally, even for the companies that do meet the Syrian workforce requirement, there is still the challenge of identifying buyers in the EU for their goods. Therefore, how can technology help solve some of these challenges and ultimately, enable Jordanian companies to take full advantage of the new Rules of Origin agreement? Solving this issue will have a tremendous impact on the lives of many Jordanians as well as Syrian refugees.

  3. EduGames

    The quality of education provided by Jordan’s public schools has suffered in recent years, leading to issues such as poor literacy rates and mathematical comprehension amongst Jordanian youth. Here is your opportunity to build a digital game that can help students improve their academic skills and compliment their learnings inside of the classroom. This is also an opportunity to support the thousands of Syrian youth refugees who continue to struggle in classrooms across Jordan and beyond.

  4. Wildcard

    This is your Jordan, and you deal with a host of challenges living here everyday. The wildcard is your opportunity to build a solution to a challenge we have not identified that you believe, if solved, would have a positive impact on a large number of people in Jordan and beyond. For the wildcard, it is important to clearly define what the challenge is, the scope of the challenge (how big is the problem), and then like all other solutions, why your idea solves the problem better than anything else currently in the marketplace.

Judging Criteria

Be creative, think big, and build something truly innovative.

All teams will need to present a demo of their prototype and a pitch deck that clearly demonstrates the applicability and vision of their product. You have less than two days to build your prototype, so make sure to focus on the most important features.

Judges will be scoring you based on the following categories:

Prizes

Winning teams will receive cash prizes and additional in-kind support.

1st

1300 JD

2nd

700 JD

Agenda

Food and drinks will be provided throughout the event.

5:30 - 6:00pm
Arrival and registration
6:00 - 7:00 pm
Welcome / challenge intros
7:00 - 8:30 PM
Ideation and team formation / mentors assigned
8:30 pm
Dinner
8:30 pm +
Hacking begins.
9:00 am
Breakfast
9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Team determined schedule
1:00 - 2:00 PM
Lunch
2:00 - 6:00 pm
Team determined schedule
6:00 - 7:00pm
Dinner
7:00pm +
Team determined schedule. Snacks provided through the night.
8:00 - 9:00 am
Breakfast and morning check-in.
9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Final hours of prototype development - presentations submitted
1:00 - 4:00 pm
Presentation practice and team rehearsals (lunch will be served).
4:30 pm
Guests start arriving
5:00 pm
Presentations start. Teams have 5 mins for presentation plus 2 min Q and A.
7:00 pm
Winners announced - reception with food and drinks

Brought to you by

In partnership with

Register

Registration is now closed. If you would like to participate, please email mike@hackforce.io with a really good reason on why you want to participate.

Non Technical Problem Solver

Software Engineer OR Hardware Engineer

Designer

Team

Team Member 1

Team Member 2

Rules

All teams will start coding at the same time on the first night of the event. We posted the challenges prior to the event so that you have time to brainstorm, do some design mockups, and define your objectives for your prototype.

Teams have full ownership of everything they build.

Teams should not be more than 5 people. The most important thing about a team is that all the right skills sets are present so that you can successfully develop your hackathon prototype.

All teams will need to demo their prototype and present a standard pitch deck on the final day of the event. Don’t worry, we will supply pitch deck templates and pitch training sessions so you are good to go on the big stage!

FAQ

You can come as team and can register as a team on the registration section of the site. Just choose the ‘team’ box and fill out the required information in the form. Team formation exercises will take place on the first evening of the event so that all participants are matched to a group best suited to their skill sets and challenge area interest.

We like to keep team sizes between 3-5 people. The most important thing about a team is that all the right skills sets are present so that you can successfully develop your hackathon prototype.

That is up to you and your team to figure out. You can build any type of software or hardware solution that you believe best addresses the challenge you choose to work on. We are expecting to see a variety of mobile apps, websites, chatbots, and sensor platforms built to address the challenges for the event.

No, this hackathon is not just focused on refugee issues. Your product has to specifically solve the challenge you choose as it is listed.

No! Just because you can’t code does not mean you can’t hack! A great product is the result of a collaborative effort between a diverse group of perspectives and skills sets. Everyone has a role to play, even non-coders. If you are not an engineer you can sign up as a non-technical problem solver or designer on the registration section.

Venue Zain Innovation Campus
King Hussein Business Park, Building 23, King Abdullah II Street
Amman, Jordan