A NASA incubator innovation programme which seeks to build creative solutions to global challenges is set to lift off in Belfast for the first time on October 20th and 21st with an event hosted by PA Consulting at its new offices in StepSpace at Centre House.
The NASA Space Apps Challenge is an international hackathon that occurs over 48 hours in cities around the world. Coders, scientists, designers, storytellers, makers, builders, technologists, and everyone enthusiastic about curiosity come together to address challenges faced on earth and in space.
This will be Northern Ireland’s first entry into the global annual event. Individuals and teams are being invited to register for this exciting, collaborative scientific exploration to pair NASA’s data with problem solvers across the globe.
Last year’s hackathon, which was the largest yet, saw 187 events and more than 25,000 people participating across six continents.
Michael Crawford, digital chief of staff at PA Consulting, said “We are excited to be bringing this event to Belfast for the first time. It’s an opportunity to team up with like-minded people to build something great. The best teams will be diverse so whether you are an artist, scientist, student, engineer, software developer, gamer, librarian, bricklayer or just someone with massive enthusiasm and great ideas then you can get involved.
“You will be tasked to make, build, design or ideate be it an app, website, electronic gadget, gizmo, clothing or something entirely outside the box, to provide an innovative solution to a specific challenge. We are looking forward to seeing what is achieved during the event and we are grateful to our partners on this event – StepSpace and MCS Group – for helping to make it happen.”
Ann Trueman, operations manager at StepSpace, said “We are really looking forward to holding the NASA Space Apps Challenge in our offices – a space that was designed specifically to inspire creativity and innovation. The teams will be working through the night, from early-stage concepts to real solutions, and we can’t wait to see what is achieved in such a short period of time.”
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