International Space Apps Challenge Kathmandu 2014

Date 12 Apr 2014 to 13 Apr 2014
Venue Trade Tower Business Centre, Thapathali, Kathmandu
Contact Persons Suyesh Pradhan
Type Workshops
Programmes MENRIS, Geospatial Solutions

For the second year in a row, the International Spaces Apps Challenges Kathmandu is being organized by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and YoungInnovations. The event will take place 12-13 April at the Trade Tower Business Centre in Thapathali. The event is being organized within the framework of SERVIR-Himalaya – an initiative funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) that aims to improve environmental decision making in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region – and in cooperation with the CSIT Association of Nepal and the Robotics Association of Nepal.

The International Space Apps Challenge is a two-day event where teams of technologists, scientists, designers, artists, educators, entrepreneurs, developers and students across the globe collaborate and engage with publicly available data to design innovative solutions for global challenges. This is the third time that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is hosting the event, which will take place in more than 90 cities around the globe, and the second in Nepal.

The winner will be awarded NPR 30,000, and the first and second runners-up will receive NPR 20,000 and NPR 10,000, respectively. The audience and the event’s panel of judges will nominate three of the participating teams in Nepal will be nominated to join the global competition.

In 2013, the winning team from first International Space Apps Challenge Kathmandu, the Karkhana Rover, received ‘Honorable Mention’ in the global competition. More information about the 2013 event can be found at http://2013.spaceappschallenge.org/location/kathmandu

Anyone interested in participating can register at http://2014.spaceappschallenge.org. Teams can be formed before or on the day of the event. Teams will develop solutions for one of the challenges provided by NASA. There are more than 60 challenges divided under five categories: Technology in Space, Human Space Flight, Asteroids, Earth Watch, and Robotics. This year, the organizers have tried to incorporate challenges that are relevant in developing countries like Nepal and also encourage the use of available local data.