International Appropriate Technology Student Techathon
27 November 2024 - 12 January 2025

What is Appropriate Technology?

“Appropriate Technology” is a movement advocating for an approach to the development and deployment of technology that honors cultural sensitivity, maintains ecological balance and fosters economic sustainability. Technology in this context encompases products beyond digital or computer-based fields. Technology, broadly, is the application of scientific or conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals.

What is the INAT Techathon?

The INAT Techathon is a 6-week virtual student competition that provides an opportunity to design and build a project in accordance with the values of Appropriate Technology. Teams will have several weeks to design a detailed solution or construct a prototype of an original project idea. This year’s theme is “Building Sustainable Rural and Urban Cities for Economic Growth, Enhancing Health and Eradicating Poverty”.

Key Dates

1. November 27: Kickoff session

   10:45am - 12:05pm, South Africa Time (convert to local time)

   In conjunction with the 11th International Conference on Appropriate Technology (ICAT) in Johannesburg, South Africa. We framed the concept of Appropriate Technology, provided details about judging criteria, and had time for answering questions from participants.

   The kickoff session was recorded and is available for viewing for those who could not attend live:

   Slides

   on Google Drive

   Recording

   on YouTube

2. December 8: Team formation & registration deadline

   There will be opportunities in the week following the kickoff to find teams with similar project interests.

3. December 8 - January 12

   Teams will work on defining their project scope, and developing a detailed design or prototype. Mentors will be available to help teams clarify their idea, scope, and pitch presentations.

4. January 12: Project submission deadline

   Each team will record a presentation of their detailed design or prototype. Presentations should include information on how the technology could be deployed, who would maintain it, what partnerships or collaborations would be critical or useful, etc. Pitches will be evaluated by our panel of Appropriate Technology scholars and practitioners.

5. January 18: Award announcements

Eligibility

• Any current undergraduate or graduate students are eligible to compete on a techathon team.

Teams

• Teams must consist of between 2 and 6 students
• Be multidisciplinary, multi-institution, and ideally multi-region.
• One of the goals of the techathon is to foster cross-regional collaboration, so teams must include participants enrolled in school in at least two countries.

Projects

• Projects may encompass any area of technology, including but not limited to:
  • Environment and Agriculture
  • Water and Sanitation
  • Health
  • Energy and Materials
  • Manufacturing and Construction
  • Cities, Space, and Infrastructure
• Projects must be the original work begun for this competition. If you have a pre-existing project that qualified as Appropriate Technology, consider submitting a proposal for the INAT Projects Grant

Prizes

All Around 1st Place Team

$1,200 USD

All Around 2nd Place Team

$900 USD

Area-specific prizes
(up to 3 teams)

$600 USD
(per prize)

Detailed judging criteria and prize targets were presented during the techathon kickoff session.