About the ANSTO Hackathon

A hackathon is an immersive experience where people come together with diverse ideas and skills to rapidly design and build products that customers would actually use. 

The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) will once again, for the fifth year, run one of these sprint-like events for Australian secondary students as part of National Science Week 2024. The theme of ANSTO's National Science Week Hackathon will align to the theme for National Science Week 2024 which is  Species Survival - More Than Just Sustainability.

• While there are many variations of hackathons, it typically involves forming teams, brainstorming ideas, getting feedback from mentors and customers, and rapidly designing/building something to test in front of customers. 
• Hints and some resources may be given before the official start; however, the specific problem statements and resources are released to participants when the hackathon begins. 
• Resources may include innovation and design tools, data sets, hardware and software to aid in ideation or even building a functional prototype or minimal viable product that customers would use.
• Final solutions can be in the form of a model, prototype, diagram, app, or any design method that fits the solution created by the teams. 
• This hackathon is unique as students have the opportunity to book time with ANSTO scientists, entrepreneurs with previous hackathon experience and potential customers who can give them advice and feedback. 

The aim of ANSTO's National Science Week Hackathon is for secondary school students to gain experience in science, innovation and entrepreneurship. Students will also gain creative confidence, valuable team-working skills, interviewing skills, experience with online collaboration tools and have a chance to interact with scientists, professionals and entrepreneurs. Teams will submit a video showcasing their ideas to a panel of scientists. 

Teachers may choose to use the hackathon to inspire their students in STEM and/or to get involved in National Science Week.  Some options include: 

1. A supporting activity for students in Years 7-11 who are engaged with National Science Week
2. As an activity that meets curriculum connections for Y7-10 in Science and Technology 
3. As a challenge for your school’s Science, STEM or Environmental Club

ANSTO's National Science Week Hackathon is open to Australian Secondary School students in years 7-8 (Junior Division) and years 9-11 (Senior Division) interested in science and technology.

Schools may apply to enter one team in each division. 

Recommended team size is between 3-7 students.

Students within teams can be from different year levels, however, must compete in the division of their oldest student. 

Submissions must be made and approved by a teacher. 

ANSTO's National Science Week Hackathon 2024 will begin on Monday, August 12th and submissions must be received by 11:59pm on Wednesday, August 14th. 

There will be a teacher briefing the week before the Hackathon.    

See Key Dates and Timeline of Events below under additional information. 

This is a virtual Hackathon. Students can participate remotely from anywhere in Australia.

ANSTO is proud to welcome a panel of mentors with diverse experience and extensive backgrounds in scientific research, innovation and technology industries. Participating in the hackathon and having the opportunity to work with these amazing scientists, engineers and business people in an individualised setting is sure to inspire and engage the students in STEM-related topics.  

• Mentors with hackathon experience may guide and provide feedback/advice to students on the Tuesday (Aug 13th) of the hackathon. This may include helping teams test their assumptions, ideate, introduce tools for innovation, and effectively present their solution. 
• Each team will be assigned a Design Thinking Mentor on the Friday prior to the event. These mentors will act as a guide for the students through the duration of the event. 
• Sessions with Industry mentors will be scheduled before the start of the Hackathon.
• Mentors provide assistance completely voluntarily and are not considered part of the team for the purposes of intellectual property, prizes or any other licensing purposes.

Check out the 2024 STEM Mentors
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• Junior and Senior Divisions: 
  • FIRST PRIZE - $1000 to be divided between students in the team plus an ANSTO Science Medal for each student.
  • RUNNER-UP - $500 to be divided between students in the team plus an ANSTO Science Medal for each student.

All hackathon entries will be judged against the following criteria:

• Originality and creativity 
• Accuracy and clarity of the science content and the plausibility of the solution 
• Alignment to hackathon purpose
• Commercial viability (entrepreneurship) 
• Future plans/pathways 
• Presentation and design
• “Wow” factor/new/surprising solution

It’s important for students to know how to properly use other people’s content in their work. While citing resources that are used in written works is appropriate, it is actually illegal to take someone else’s digital content (pictures, music or sounds) and use it in your video presentation. There are two options to ensure that you are doing the right thing when it comes to copyright:

1. Get written permission from the copyright owners before submitting your work. Make sure to cite permission at the end of your video/in your written overview.  
2. Use copyright-free images, music and sounds effects. Use this guide to properly attribute your sources, if needed.  

Here are some helpful links to get you started:

• Arts Law Centre of Australia – Legal information of filmmakers
• Free Music Archive – Royalty free music
• Pixabay – Free images and royalty-free stock
• Freesound – Free special effects and sounds
• Creative Commons – Use and remix creative content

Submissions created by students are owned by the students. This hackathon aims to inspire students to create something new and they will own the IP to their unique idea.  

The personal information that ANSTO may collect includes the names of the student, Parent/Guardian and Teacher, the name of your school, the student’s age, state or territory location, photographs, voice recordings and video recordings. ANSTO may use information obtained in the course of the hackathon in printed and digital materials and websites including reports, brochures, fact sheets, websites, case studies, promotional videos and multimedia presentations. The materials may be used by media outlets. Personal details may also be used to contact the student, Parent/Guardian or Teacher regarding future ANSTO events or to seek your feedback on the hackathon. 

The information will only be used for the purposes outlined above, except where required by law. ANSTO respects your right to privacy of your information. Your contact details will remain strictly confidential and will be stored securely to comply with privacy regulations. Read ANSTO's Privacy Policy.
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