OneAquaHealth IEEE Global Hackathon

ABOUT THE HACKATHON

The OneAquaHealth IEEE Global Hackathon 2026 focuses on improving the sustainability and health of urban freshwater ecosystems by combining technology, citizen science, and the One Health approach. Urban aquatic environments are critical to biodiversity and human well-being but face increasing challenges due to urbanization, climate change, and limited monitoring capabilities.

This challenge invites participants to build solutions that empower citizens and communities to actively contribute to environmental monitoring through intuitive tools and engaging experiences. Teams will explore ways to transform citizen-generated and environmental data into actionable insights that support researchers, policymakers, and local communities in making informed decisions.

Participants are encouraged to leverage AI, data platforms, and digital health standards to improve the accuracy, reliability, and interoperability of ecosystem data while maintaining a human-centered approach. The hackathon also emphasizes raising awareness, fostering community engagement, and promoting long-term stewardship of urban water ecosystems through storytelling, gamification, and participatory design.

By integrating environmental, climate, and citizen data, teams will help build early-warning systems, resilience tools, and decision-support platforms that strengthen ecosystem sustainability. Ultimately, this hackathon aims to advance the OneAquaHealth mission of connecting ecosystem health, biodiversity, and human well-being, driving innovation toward healthier communities and a more sustainable future.

The hackathon aligns closely with the OneAquaHealth project, which is funded by the European Union. OneAquaHealth connects ecosystem health and human well-being through innovative tools for early detection of environmental risks. By combining biodiversity indicators, digital monitoring technologies, and community participation, OneAquaHealth helps identify how urban aquatic ecosystems respond to stressors. This holistic One Health approach supports evidence-based decisions for healthier, more resilient cities.

GET STARTED

How to participate

Form a team or participate individually.

Choose a track aligned with your interests.

Understand the problem and define your impact.

Build a prototype using AI, data, or citizen science approaches.

Follow OneAquaHealth on LinkedIn,X, and Facebook to stay updated, engage with the community, and gather insights that may support your project.

Join the OneAquaHealth Community to connect with researchers, innovators, and citizen scientists and access domain knowledge relevant to your solution.

Download and use the OneAquaHealth Citizen Science App to explore real environmental data, contribute observations, and gain hands‑on experience with inputs your prototype may build upon.

Join sessions and mentorship for guidance.

Submit your project with demo, code, and description.

TIP

Focus on building solutions that are impactful, practical, and scalable.

REQUIREMENTS

What to Build

Build solutions that improve urban freshwater ecosystem monitoring and support the One Health vision.

Your Project should belong to one of the tracks:

Track	Challenge	Problem	Build
Track 1: Citizen Science UX	Improve citizen science app experience for stream assessments	Complex tools, confusing terminology, and low participation reduce usability and impact	Guided workflows, simplified ecological terms, improved data accuracy, and repeat engagement features
Track 2: Data-to-Insight	Turn citizen-collected data into actionable stream health and One Health insights	Stream data is hard to interpret and does not clearly show patterns, risks, or health impact	Dashboards, maps, trend analysis, and One Health insight summaries
Track 3: AI-Supported Assessment	Use AI responsibly to support stream assessment without replacing human judgment	Citizen observations can be inconsistent and error-prone	AI prompts, validation checks, explainable AI, and human-in-the-loop workflows
Track 4: Awareness & Storytelling	Make One Health understandable and engaging	Low awareness and lack of engaging formats	Educational modules, storytelling, and personalized insights
Track 5: Community & Gamification	Drive sustained participation	Low repeat engagement	Gamification, dashboards, challenges, and social features
Track 6: Resilience Informatics	Enable early warning & resilience planning	Lack of predictive environmental tools	Predictive dashboards, alerts, and resilience tools
Track 7: Digital Health Standards	Enable interoperability across systems	Fragmented data and lack of standards	FHIR models, AI agents, and integration frameworks

What to Submit

Track Alignment: Clearly state the track you’ve chosen and how your project addresses the challenge.
Project Description: Explain the problem, your solution, target users, and expected impact on ecosystem and human health.
Demo Video (3–5 mins): Showcase your project in action, highlighting key features and functionality.
Code Repository: Provide a public GitHub (or equivalent) link with source code and documentation.
Prototype / Demo: Share a working prototype, mockup, or proof-of-concept.
Submission Deadline: Ensure your project is submitted before the official deadline to be eligible for judging.

All results, outputs, and winning solutions from the hackathon will be showcased on the OneAquaHealth Open Information Hub, helping to raise visibility across Europe for the event’s activities and celebrating the achievements of participating teams.

DATES

Hackathon Dates & Learning Sessions

Session	Date & Focus
Introducing OneAquaHealth Project	June 1, 2026 - Introducing OneAquaHealth Project
One Aqua Health Hub Tools (Citizen Science App ,City Dashboard,GEOSSIP & Resillience Map)	June 15, 2026 - Citizen Science App & City Dashboard
Nature as BluePrint: Plantery intelligence and Human Innovation	July 1, 2026 - GEOSSIP & Resilience Map
One Digital Health & FAIR Principles	July 15, 2026 - One Digital Health and FAIR Principles
Informatics, Technology & Standards (HL7 FHIR Standards + hands-on Sandbox experience)	Aug 1, 2026 - HL7 FHIR Standards + hands-on Sandbox experience
AB2Q of Emerging Technologies (AI, Blockchain to Quantum & Beyond)	Aug 17, 2026 - AI, Blockchain to Quantum & Beyond
Agentic AI for Citizen Science	Sep 1, 2026 - Agentic AI for Citizen Science & Environmental Monitoring
Building Intelligent Solutions: What Teams Should Create and What Success Looks Like (Q&A Type of session)	Sep 15, 2026 - What Teams Should Create & What Success Looks Like (Q&A)

Phase / Activity	Timeline
Registration Opens	May 1, 2026
Registration Closes	August 31, 2026
Hackathon Period	September 16 - September 30, 2026
Judging	October 1 - October 15, 2026
Winners Announced	October 24, 2026 (IEEE iGET Conference)

PRIZES

$3,000+ in prizes

🏆 IEEE Merit Award

$1,000 in cash

3 winners

🥇 Prizes TBD

1st Prize

2nd Prize

3rd Prize

Prizes will include a combination of cash and in-kind awards. Full details will be announced soon.

In case of a tie, both teams will receive the higher prize, and the lower prize will not be awarded.

📜 Certificates of Merit

3 winners

IEEE Certificate of Merit for the top 3 winning teams.

🎓 IEEE Certificate of Participation

100 winners

IEEE Certificate of Participation for all eligible participants.

⭐ IEEE Senior Member Nomination

5 winners

Eligible winners who are IEEE members may be nominated for IEEE Senior Member elevation.

JUDGES

Alexander Nikolov
Research Manager, SYNYO GmbH

Maria João Feio, PhD
One Aqua Health Program Coordinator

Pradyumna Kodgi
Product Manager, Oracle

Gora Datta
FHL7,SMIEEE, SMACM

David E. González
IEEE Blockchain Technical Community Treasurer

Vinay Sharma
Program Manager, Persistent Systems

Sreekanth Reddy Panyam Senior Member, IEEE

Harm op den Akker Researcher, SHINE 2Europe

George Koutalieris
Chief Business & Innovation Officer, ENORA Innovation

Ângela Freitas Project Manager, SHINE 2Europe

JUDGING CRITERIA

Impact & Alignment with OneAquaHealth project Mission

How well the solution improves monitoring, protection, awareness, or sustainability of water ecosystems and their connection to human, animal, and environmental health.

Innovation & Creativity

Originality of the idea and creative use of technology to address ecosystem and citizen science challenges.

Architecture

Quality of prototype, architecture, functionality, and effective use of tools, APIs, or data sources.

UX

Ease of use, clarity of interface, and accessibility for intended users.

Scale

Potential for real-world implementation, scalability, and integration with existing systems.