As part of the 5th annual Call for Code Global Challenge, design and build an open source solution in the cloud to take on a sustainability issue. We’re calling on teams of developers and problem solvers to leverage open innovation and develop technology solutions that address specific global sustainability problems in unique, clearly demonstrable ways. The top Global Challenge solution receives implementation support from IBM and the Call for Code ecosystem to make a real impact in the communities with the greatest need.
By participating in the Global Challenge, in addition to the chance to win prizes and implementation support, you’ll build critical skills for yourself and your team and contribute to projects that have the potential to help our planet.
Your Global Challenge solution should address one of the diverse challenges aligned to sustainability:
- Build effective and efficient ways to quantifiably promote, preserve, and protect biodiversity
- Reduce global food insecurity through, as examples, improvements to distribution or sustainable farming practices
- Remove barriers to equal education access and job opportunities to further environmental justice
- Improve the ability to measure, analyze, or take decisive action on carbon emissions
- Improve access to affordable and reliable clean energy
- Improve supply chain transparency and traceability to bring fast and accurate visibility to sustainability issues where they arise
- Address issues of water scarcity and quality
- Reduce volume of and demand for materials that create the biggest waste footprint (plastics, electronics, food, textile), and encourage reuse/recycle opportunities
Who should participate:
There are many ways you can build a great team, but the most successful teams often bring together diverse skill sets to design unique and impactful solutions. Consider building your team to include:
Builders: The tech mastermind of your team. The builder is the methodical, digital-obsessed teammate who brings the technical know-how to help ground your solution in what’s possible.
Designers: Your UX expert who ensures the solution is user-friendly and visually appealing. Designers bring creative vision to technical problem solving, making what you build sleek and easy-to-consume.
Communicators: Good communicators make complex ideas simple and inspiring. Your team’s calculating hustler is essential in articulating the problem and succinctly defining how the solution can make a difference in a profound, unique, consumable way.
Humanitarians: Altruistic thinkers who understand the complex problems at hand in a truly human way and are committed to finding a solution to make a demonstrable difference. This inspirational lead of your team considers the communities in need, while also thinking like the individual user.
Prizes:
All winners will receive open source support from the Linux Foundation.
Grand Prize winner: $200,000 USD
Winning team will also receive solution implementation support from IBM and the Call for Code ecosystem.
1st runner-up: $25,000 USD
2nd runner-up: $25,000 USD
3rd runner-up: $10,000 USD
4th runner-up: $10,000 USD
University prize winner: $15,000 USD
Guaranteed acceptance to the CGI U 2023 class, including access to the full CGI U 2023 Annual Meeting.
Benefits of participation:
Register for the global challenge to participate, and receive access to:
IBM Cloud: A trial IBM Cloud account for 2022 that provides access to many free services without a credit card, including the ability to create Kubernetes clusters.
Challenge Accelerators: Challenge Accelerator events to fast-track your project and become eligible for additional prizes.
Expert webinars: Live and on-demand thematic and technical sessions led by subject matter experts.
Mentors and team resources: Mentors, team-building resources, and discussion with other participants.
IBM SkillsBuild Learning Plan: An exclusive skills learning plan to learn about the latest cloud and other technologies, professional development skills, and sustainability resources.
The Weather Company APIs: Exclusive The Weather Company APIs to use during the Global Challenge.
Sponsored toolkits, APIs, and datasets: Toolkits, APIs, and data sets from Call for Code sponsors to use when building your solution.
How to Apply:
Project submission deadline: Monday, October 31st, 2002