ACS has partnered with the Australian and New Zealand Defence Forces for the inaugural #Shockproof ANZDF Hackathon to be held this weekend, 15 to 17 May.
With recent shocks such as bushfires, floods and now COVID-19, the 48-hour hackathon is focused on enhancing resilience in supply chains and building sovereign capability.
The latest event follows last month's success of the #Flattenthecurve, the largest Hackathon in APAC with over 2,700 participants.
“ACS was privileged to be invited to participate, and we encourage all our members and other stakeholders from the technology sector and innovation ecosystem to get involved and apply your problem-solving skills to building solutions in the national interest,” ACS CEO Andrew Johnson said.
Minister for Defence, Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds, added the hackathon will look to leverage technological specialists’ ingenuity across the two nations to enhance sovereign capability.
“The strength of the Australia-New Zealand relationship is more important than ever, and now is the optimum time to build networks and find self-reliant capability solutions with our close partner and friend across the Tasman,” Minister Reynolds said.
The hackathon is expected to generate executable submissions including prototypes, applications and algorithms with winning and shortlisted concepts to progress through innovation programs, mentoring, real data, funding streams or ongoing support programs.
Challenges will pose a series of themes: problem statements, enabling technologies, and policies affecting the defence sector.
Problem statements will explore complexity between manufacturing revival; supply chain management and logistics optimisation; infrastructure, economic and natural resources; enabling policies; and enabling technologies.
Enabling technologies consider the application of Defence technology priorities. These include trusted autonomous vehicles; integrated intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance; advanced sensors, hypersonics and directed energy capabilities; blockchain and smart contracts; secure cyber; space satellite constellations; quantum technologies; multidisciplinary material science and enhanced human performance.
Enabling policies consider application of sovereign industrial capability; global supply chains; defence exports; agile contracting and procurement models; research, development and innovation incentives; foreign relations, investment and trade; and STEM education policy.
The ANZDF Hack is open to Australians and New Zealanders, or their organisations. Registrations are currently open at the ANZDFhack.org site.
