SDGeneration: Hack 4 UN SDGs
As part of its Sustainable Development Goals February series, the Institute for Global Prosperity in collaboration with the London International Development Centre is organising a day-long hackathon for students, tackling some of the global challenges we face today

Are we ready for 2030?
In collaboration, the Institute for Global Prosperity and the London International Development Centre will be holding a hackathon led by Darshita Gillies CEO and Co-Founder of Maanch.
This day-long hackathon will offer students, with a passion for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) the opportunity to come together to learn, ideate, solve and present their ideas on how to tackle some of the global challenges we face today.
We're inviting students from a diverse range of backgrounds, from art and design, to anthropoloy and management, to share their knowledge and skills. The hackathon will be facilitated by leading academics and entrepreneurs to help guide you through the day.
Hackathon context
The IGP and LIDC have identified four, interrelated and mission-critical SDGs as pivotal to realising sustainable prosperity: SDG 2 Zero Hunger, SDG 4 Quality Education, SDG 8 Decent Work and SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities.
We plan to use these four SDGs as the basis for our global city hackathon to give participants a deep understanding of the current status of different cities towards achieving the SDGs. From this, we will work with hackathon participants to then design strategies to inspire SDG attainment by engaging partners and funders, with a particular focus on youth movements.
We will ask each group to collect and present information on London as a baseline (and the host city) as an initial exercise. This exercise will not be judged but will give participants an opportunity to benefit from shared learning ahead of our afternoon session.
The afternoon session will see each team hack solutions for progress towards goals 2, 4, 8 and 11 in a global city of their choosing and present their strategies to the group.
The hackathon intends to initiate cross cultural learning and collaboration among the international student community.
Winning Solutions
The winning teams from the hackathon will have the opportunity to present their solutions at the IGP/LIDC conference, SDGeneration: A Citizen Science Movement, on 13th February 2019 in front of an audience of 100 guests from the philanthropic, higher education, funding, governmental and NGO worlds.
The presentations will be given at 11:45am at the Amnesty International Offices, 25 New Inn Yard, London, EC2A 3EA. More details will be provided on the day.
Judging Criteria
The winning teams will be judged on the following critera:
Research and Development
All the development work on the project must be done during the event with the resources provided (and the internet).
Realistic and Relevant
Does the strategy outlined solve a relevant problem for the targeted SDG(s) in their chosen city?
Innovation
Does the solution show innovative problem solving and novel ideas being applied to mobilising youth for the SDGs?
Sustainability and Scalability
Is the strategy sustainable and scalable within the selected city? Is there a possibiliyt to replicate it across geographies?
Collaboration
Does the strategy have low barriers to collaboration, or does it require significant sacrifice or change from only one stakeholder group?
Equipment
Please bring your laptops/tablets, adapters and chargers with you on the day.
Why the UN SDGs?
There are 17 SDGs with 169 targets. To realise the SDGs it is estimated that the world will need to invest between 7-10% of global annual GDP per year.
But don't let this put you off! The SDGs are also the first comprehensive plan for the whole of humanity to flourish within the means of the planet. this makes them a good framework for creative solutions to global challenges that have environmental and social impact at their core.
Why attend?
- Networking with like-minded students, entrepreneurs and academics
- The opportuity to present winning solutions at the IGP/LIDC conference, "SDGeneration: A citizen science movement, on the 13th February 2019 in front of an audience of 100 guests from philanthropic, higher education, funding, governmental and NGO worlds
Time | Activity |
---|---|
08:30 - 09:00 | Registration |
09:00 - 09:15 | Welcome address and introduction |
09:15 - 10:00 | SDG Context Development and Team Formation |
10:00 - 10:15 | Break |
10:15 - 12:30 | Morning session: Ideation + Hacking + Mentoring on London |
12:30 - 13:30 | Lunch |
13:30 - 16:00 | Afternoon session: Ideation + Hacking on a Global City of your choosing |
16:00 - 16:15 | Break |
16:15 - 17:00 | Presentations + Outcomes + Award Ceremony |
Event hashtag: #SDGeneration
SDGeneration: A Citizen Science Movement
This hackathon is part of the IGP and LIDC February event series exploring the support needed in order to achieve the SDGs, and the contribution citizen-science can make towards their evaluation.
Join us on 13th February 2019 at the Amnesty International Offices in East London for our main event in the series, the one-day joint conference "SDGeneration: A Citizen Science Movement".
Getting there and Directions
The Bartlett Real Estate Institute is based at UCL Here East, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, E20 3BS.
The easiest way to arrive is by jumping on the FREE shuttle bus outside Stratford and Stratford International stations. Buses run approximately every five minutes, 7am to 10:30pm, Monday to Friday and take about five minutes to reach UCL Here East.
Further information
Ticketing
Open
Cost
Free
Open to
All
Availability
Yes