Taking place this weekend (25th and 26th February), Cambridge Hack is a ‘hackathon’ bringing together people from different backgrounds, with different expertise, to collaborate and devise novel solutions to transport problems in Cambridge.
Allia is working together with Cambridge University Technology and Enterprise Club (CUTEC) and Cambridge Space (Impact Hub) to organise the event.
They hope that by bringing together students, local tech groups, residents and members of the business community to work in teams, new ideas and technological approaches to the problem can be generated which could ease congestion and facilitate easier transport links throughout Cambridge.
Using creative thinking, technical innovation and a huge range of data, participants will compete to take home a range of prizes, from an electric bike to an all-expenses paid trip to attend the first Y4PT (Youth 4 Public Transport) Transport Hack in Montreal, in a final pitch to expert judges on Sunday.
Director of Enterprise Support at Allia, Paul Hughes, said: ‘Events like these are so valuable. The problems of traffic congestion, and the wider implications for health, economy and environment, in Cambridge are huge. We know we probably won’t solve it in two days. But by bringing people with different expertise, backgrounds and skills together, to collaborate on a shared challenge, we hope that we can inspire innovation and encourage the kind of creative problem solving and impact entrepreneurialism that is becoming more and more vital in our world.’
He continued; ‘we have been supporting CUTEC for 2 years, and think they are the ideal group of innovative individuals to help deliver this exciting project, the first in a series of Challenge Weekends we plan to bring to Peterborough and Cambridge over the coming years.’
CUTEC president Max Millange, said: “we hope that by engaging the student community with the problem of transport in the city, and working together with local businesses and residents, we will be able to build ties to work towards a common goal.’
Co-organisers Impact Hub said: “transport is a key challenge now and for the foreseeable future. It is the infrastructure that will drive or destroy Cambridge’s ability to grow and prosper.’
This Challenge Weekend promises to produce a wide range of innovative solutions which could make real impact to transport in Cambridge. Spaces are limited so sign up now at www.cambridgehack.com.
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