Are you prepared to take on the challenge?

The SSTL x World Bank HADR Challenge is here! 

HADR Challenge 2021
Mission Statement:

Develop a solution that will augment real time flood extents derived from satellite imagery with flood depth information from other existing datasets and/or real time data sources.

Every year, the cost of damages from natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, and landslides amount to approximately 300 billion USD. In the case of a natural disaster, it is crucial for governments to quickly address recovery efforts and manage the financial aspects of the disaster’s impact. This is especially true for market-emerging economies such as countries in Southeast Asia.

The World Bank Group’s Southeast Asia Disaster Risk Insurance Facility (SEADRIF) has started a regional catastrophe risk pool especially for flood risks developed by and for Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar with technical assistance from the World Bank Disaster Risk Financing & Insurance Program (DRFIP). However, these flood products only provide estimates of flood extent but not water depth which is strongly correlated with damage and needs.

 

Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Challenge

The application of satellite technology and its increasing role in providing quick, accurate and effective response to frequent and complex disaster situations is evident. Across the world, countries have recognized the need of utilizing remote sensing satellite technologies as a critical tool in real-time disaster management.

The Singapore Space and Technology Limited (SSTL) has launched the HADR (Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief) challenge, to stimulate and tap into the creativity of companies, start-ups, research groups or even students and identify new and translatable solutions to complex problems of coordination and technology usage within the context of HADR.

Objectives

CRITERIA

Participating teams must satisfy the following conditions:

  • Open to participants of all ages and professions
  • Minimum of one member per team
  • One registration per team 
  • Team member(s) must have a valid email address

DELIVERABLES

The submission date for the HADR Challenge is 9 November 2020. Participants are to submit a report of not more than 10 pages to include the following points:

  • Detailed explanation of how the application will assist with HADR recovery efforts
  • Possible disaster plan – A list of steps showing how the application will operate in tandem with HADR in event of a disaster
  • Roadmap for future development towards commercialization

And video presentation no more than 5 minutes, consisting of:

  • Description of the disaster scenario
  • Description of the application
  • Explanation of the application’s ability to help in the identified scenario

KEYDATES

GRAND PRIZE

Win the opportunity to pitch their solution to the European Space Agency!

In addition, winners will showcase their solutions at the Global Space and Technology Convention (GSTC) 2021 which is attended by industry experts from around the world.

claus_nehmzow

Mr Claus Nehmzow​

CIO,
Eastern Pacific Shipping

david_geiling

Mr David Geiling

VP of APAC Sales,
Kymeta Corporation

claus_nehmzow

Mr Claus Nehmzow​

CIO,
Eastern Pacific Shipping

david_geiling

Mr David Geiling

VP of APAC Sales,
Kymeta Corporation

Participating Organisations

Partners

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sUPPORTING ORGANISATION

Regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Coordination Centre

FAQ

Taking part in the HADR Challenge 2021 will promote your organisation as one that is contributing to the region’s HADR efforts. The challenge will also provide opportunities for you to meet with experts from the industry you may not previously have connections with through the various platforms such as the 2020 Understanding Risk Forum and Global Space and Technology Convention.

The HADR Challenge 2021 is open to all ages and professions. You only need to submit a registration form here to officially participate.

Participants are free to use any form of data available at their disposal! Should teams have difficulty obtaining satellite data, the European Space Agency has an extensive database of satellite images which are open source. Teams are also not limited to using purely satellite data and we encourage creativity when tackling the challenge statement.

We have a carefully selected panel of judges from different backgrounds to ensure that the projects are marked as holistically as possible. We are currently working on a rubric which details the various grading parameters and this will be shared with all teams in the coming weeks.

While we are focusing on the Southeast Asian region, the data used need not be limited to SEA and we do encourage you to showcase how your solution might work with similar data from different regions.

Engagement Workshops 2 and 3 are set to be held end-September and end-October. These workshops will take the form of one-on-one, 30 minutes, consultation sessions with our experts to address any questions teams may have regarding their projects.

Consultation session dates and times will be sent out via email to all our participants and will be booked on a first-come-first-serve basis. However, we will try to ensure that every team is granted at least one consultation session.

We will be updating our FAQs on the website so do check there! Should we receive a large number of questions from the teams and there is significant overlap, we are definitely open to holding a forum later on to address them.

All projects are to be submitted by 9 November 2020, 2359H (GMT +8). A google drive will be created for each team to upload their project. A unique link will be sent out to each team closer to the submission deadline.

The deliverables only require teams to submit the end product and write in detail how their solution will work in the stated disaster scenario. The algorithms and code that go into making up the solution need not be submitted.

After the teams submit your final projects, 6 teams will be shortlisted for the pitching session. At the pitching session, these 6 teams will pitch to the judges (and the audience of UR 2020) who will decide the final winners!

Each team will have 5 minutes to pitch, followed by a 5-minute Q&A session.

Due to the Covid-19 situation, the pitching session will be conducted virtually. The date and time of the pitching session is currently undergoing discussion and any updates regarding the pitching session will be sent out via email and listed on our website once we have confirmed the information. 

Due to the Covid-19 situation, the date and time of the Award Ceremony has not been decided. Details will be sent out via email and listed on our website once the information is confirmed. 

Past Events

Rules

  1. Entries may be submitted as an individual or group effort. For entries of group effort, only a maximum of 3 group members are allowed.
  2. Participants must submit an online registration form to participate in the HADR CHALLENGE 2021.
  3. Each group must submit a report not more than 10 pages, typewritten with Arial font size 11 with all pages numbered. A video presentation (no more than 5 mins) will also need to be submitted together with the proposal.
  4. All solutions submitted must fulfill the following criteria to be considered:
  5. If you wish to submit your entries, email to contact@space.org.sg.
  6. By submitting the entries, you grant SSTL and the sponsoring companies permission to display, copy, combine, compile, distribute and disseminate your entry as needed to support the HADR CHALLENGE 2021. Entries will not be accepted if they include:
    • Threatening, slanderous or obscene language
    • Personal attacks
    • Discriminatory language (include hate speech) based on race, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion or disability
    • Sexually explicit material or other material that would violate the law
    • Material that promotes commercial services or product
    • Proprietary information that you do not hold the right to make public
    • Personally Identifiable Information (e.g., social security numbers, postal and email addresses, phone numbers)
  7. Entries submitted to which the submitter will retain the rights participants have in the copyright and other intellectual property rights comprising the competition entry but, participants grant SSTL and the sponsoring companies free of charge to republish the competition entries.
  8. Entries which do not comply with any of the competition rules will be disqualified.
  9. The entries will be assessed in confidence by an independent panel of judges. No appeals will be entertained.
  10. SSTL will notify the shortlisted teams via email. If the teams cannot be contacted by SSTL, or does not respond within one calendar days from the time SSTL sends its notification, SSTL may decide to award the prize for the challenge to the other participant(s).
  11. The HADR Challenge has a strict policy regarding plagiarism. Plagiarism includes using text, information or ideas from other works with proper citation. Any cases of alleged plagiarism will be promptly investigated. It is the responsibility of the participants to ensure that all his sources are properly cited using the correct format.
  12. For further information, please contact us through email at gillian.chin@space.org.sg or contact@space.org.sg.

REGISTRATION

Registration has closed.

Please email contact@space.org.sg for further information or queries. 

All questions, comments and feedbacks are always welcome.