Amsterdam 2013. Photo courtesy Sebastiaan Burg
Form your team or compete solo, join us at Stellenbosch University (or online if you can't join in person) on February 6th and 7th, and compete in our 2-day blockchain hackathon for a chance to win your share of the R1,279,876 ($70,000) in awards!
The inaugural South Africa Blockchain in Education Symposium and Hackathon is hosted by Stellenbosch University in collaboration with South Africa's National Institute for Theoretical and Computational Sciences and the Switzerland-based Knowledge Foundation international standards organization. During this special event world-renowned experts will lead a series of public talks and workshops focused on the impact of blockchain technology on education.
Based on the success of the $40,000 (R732,479) hackathon held during the 2023 Blockchain in Education Summit at Oxford, and the $75,000 (R1,373,398) United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Coding4Integrity Hackathon recently held in Qatar, a similar hackathon will held in Stellenbosch.
The 2024 South Africa Blockchain in Education Hackathon is open to all students, faculty, professionals and independent developers. Please note that there is no cost to participate in the hackathon (hackathon participants do not pay a registration fee).
Hackathon winners will be awarded professional Internet Computer blockchain developer grants* and Knowledge Token® intellectual currency, for which there are two levels of awards (see below).
Knowledge Token® intellectual currency will also be awarded to all participants that complete the hackathon but are not on a winning team or a winning solo participant, for a total of $35,000 (R655,255) in token prizes. Knowledge Token® awards are redeemable towards registration fees at all future Summits and Symposia worldwide.
This prize will be awarded to a maximum of two winners (teams and/or solo participants), and is subject to DFINITY Developer Grant Program Terms and Conditions shown below. For this prize the $10,000 in developer grant awards will be distributed in the form of two separate $5,000 grants, meaning winners will successfully complete the first $5k grant in order to claim their second $5k grant. The Knowledge Token® prizes will be awarded to the winning teams and solo participants and are redeemable towards registration fees at all future Summits and Symposia worldwide.
This prize will be awarded to a maximum of three winners (teams and/or solo participants), and is subject to DFINITY Developer Grant Program Terms and Conditions shown below. For this prize a $5,000 developer grant will be awarded to each winning team or solo participant. The Knowledge Token® prizes will be awarded to the winning teams and solo participants. The Knowledge Token® prizes will be awarded to the winning teams and solo participants and are redeemable towards registration fees at all future Summits and Symposia worldwide.
Knowledge Token® intellectual currency will be awarded to all participants that complete the hackathon but are not on a winning team or a winning solo participant, for a total of $35,000 (R655,255) in token prizes. The Knowledge Token® prizes will be awarded to the winning teams and solo participants and are redeemable towards registration fees at all future Summits and Symposia worldwide.
For details about the hackathon, including specific details on how to prepare your team (or yourself, if participating by yourself) please sign up for notifications and related hackathon updates:
Problems or questions? Please contact hackathon@KnowledgeFound.org
Special conference sessions address open international standards related to Knowledge Token® and blockchain in the field of education that are developed through Working Groups (WGs) and Technology Working Groups (TWGs) chaired by faculty, administrators, and researchers.
First introduced at IMMERSIVE ITALY 2017, Knowledge Tokens can be considered to be intellectual currency and, as such, may be used to pay for goods and services such as mobile phones, tablets, computers, games, textbooks, tuition and more. Sessions at Oxford provide attendees with in-depth instructions on how to utilize and distribute Knowledge Tokens with their own classes and training activities.
Grants are wholly separate from the Hackathon and are subject to terms of the DFINITY Developer Grant Program. Grant awards are not automatic or immediately guaranteed. Hackathon winners become eligible for participation in the DFINITY Developer Grant Program and entitlement to the full grant award amount is subject to meeting specified future milestones and satisfying all terms and conditions of the DFINITY Developer Grant Program. In the event that a participant wins a prize that offers them eligibility for a developer grant from the Foundation and the participant will be subject to the DFINITY DEVELOPER GRANT PROGRAM TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
Titles and organizations at time of speaking
Founding Director of the Immersive Education Initiative (iED) and Boston College faculty
Asst. Director General, United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization
Director, Office of Educational Tech, U.S. Dept. of Education & Immersive Education advisor
Chief Ranger, U.S. Dept. of the Interior National Park Service (NPS) and Immersive Education club advisor
MIT Media Lab Associate Director and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Prof. of Media Arts & Sciences
Harvard Graduate School of Education Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies, Harvard University
Fellow of University College, Oxford, and Director of University College Oxford Blockchain Research Centre
Director of New Media & Technology, Smithsonian and Immersive Education Initiative Arts and Culture co-chair
Co-creator and co-director, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab and Media Lab Asia
President, Federation of USA Scientists & Immersive Education advisor
Lead Researcher, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Learning Technologies
Professor of Learning Research and Director of MIT Okawa Center & Lifelong Kindergarten group
Faculty, Stanford University and Co-Chair of the Immersive Education Initiative Open File Formats TWG
Stereoscopic Supervisor, Disney Animation Studios and Academy Award®-winning film "Frozen"
Senior Principal SRE/SWE (Site Reliability Engineer and Software Engineer), Google
Futurist, Intel Corp. and professor at University of Washington & California College
