DCU last weekend played host to Ireland’s first food hackathon aimed at solving the biggest problems facing Ireland’s food industry.
The event, which took place in DCU’s Invent Campus played host to entrepreneurs, engineers and farmers from across the globe with the focus of “developing ideas and solving food industry problems.” The event took place in conjunction with DCU Innovation Campus, Intel and the ABP Food Group.
Participants were tasked with using the latest technologies to tackle numerous problems facing Ireland’s food industry from sustainability, farm safety, animal welfare and waste management. The farming and agriculture sector has had annual increases in work-related deaths for the last five years. 55 per cent of all work-related deaths in 2014 took were linked to the agriculture sector.
Speaking at the launch of the event, Intel’s Philip Moynagh said: ‘’Hackathons are fast emerging as an optimal way to bring together makers, entrepreneurs, designers, engineers, creators, innovators and developers from across the country to join together for intense sessions dedicated to developing ideas and solving problems.”
There is a first place prize of €10,000 for participants in the hackathon. Second place winners will receive €5,000, while those in third place will win €2,500.
Finnian Curran
Image Credit: stockfresh.com
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