Ecological transition: 12 projects awarded at the WECHANGE Hackathon
Thursday, November 18, 2021, 12 winners won the WECHANGE Hackathon run by the NEOMA Business School Incubators, in partnership with the Metropolis of Rouen Normandy. The goal of the hackathon? Respond to the challenges of ecological transition through business creation projects responding to different issues.
On paper, the goal is clear. The upheavals in our ecosystem are singled out every day and it is our duty to respond quickly. In fact, the subject is very broad and the participants fortunately benefited from the clarifications of professionals around four main themes:
- Mobility and transport
- Town planning and development
- Logistics issues
- Circular economy
On September 30, as part of the “Rouen, capital of the world after” week, several experts participated in a round table organized by NEOMA to present the major issues associated with each of these four axes.
Thanks to this valuable information, the students, experts and employees who wished to participate in the challenge consolidated their business creation plans before submitting their applications online on the NEOMA Business School Startup Lab website. Then, at the end of a selection process, the following 12 projects were awarded during the grand final which took place on Thursday, November 18, 2021 on the Rouen campus of NEOMA Business School:
Category 1: mobility and transport
- 1st prize: RÉFLEXE project (soft mobility repairer)
- 2nd prize: SMART FRET project (tracker to reduce the carbon impact of carriers)
- 3rd prize: ECO TRACK project (tracker to simplify the movement of professional vehicles)
Category 2: town planning and development
- 1st prize: VERMUR project (greening cities)
- 2nd prize: NOR project (motion sensor to regulate public lighting)
- 3rd prize: Champerché project (a farm in town)
Category 3: logistics issues
- 1st prize: EASYSHIPING project (Pooling deliveries in a single drop-off point)
- 2nd prize: CandyHealth project (eco-responsible candies)
- 3rd prize: PicknMove project (a delivery solution by electric bikes)
Category 4: circular economy
- 1st prize: Reyoca project (a car scrapyard 2.0)
- 2nd prize: Vinfinity project (sale of frippe)
- 3rd prize: Woodeco project (revalorization of wood)
“The profiles of the participants were very varied. We had students as well as experts, employees or even high school students. For example, one of our laureates, the promoter of the CandyHealth project, is barely 15 years old! This variety of profiles was a real richness for the challenge because each one brought a different perspective on the issues. I was very impressed with the motivation and involvement of each team. In just 4 hours, they invented relevant concepts in an area close to their hearts. I am very happy to continue to follow them for a year within the NEOMA Incubators to help them realize their business creation projects. “Safir Hanafi, head of the Rouen Incubator of NEOMA Business School in charge of the WECHANGE hackathon.
A huge congratulations to all the winners!
