The IEEE OneAquaHealth Global Hackathon 2026 focuses on improving the sustainability and health of urban freshwater ecosystems by combining technology, citizen science, and the One Health approach. Urban aquatic environments are critical to biodiversity and human well-being but face increasing challenges due to urbanization, climate change, and limited monitoring capabilities.
This challenge invites participants to build solutions that empower citizens and communities to actively contribute to environmental monitoring through intuitive tools and engaging experiences. Teams will explore ways to transform citizen-generated and environmental data into actionable insights that support researchers, policymakers, and local communities in making informed decisions. Participants are encouraged to leverage AI, data platforms, and digital health standards to improve the accuracy, reliability, and interoperability of ecosystem data while maintaining a human-centered approach. The hackathon also emphasizes raising awareness, fostering community engagement, and promoting long-term stewardship of urban water ecosystems through storytelling, gamification, and participatory design.
By integrating environmental, climate, and citizen data, teams will help build early-warning systems, resilience tools, and decision-support platforms that strengthen ecosystem sustainability. Ultimately, this hackathon aims to advance the OneAquaHealth mission of connecting ecosystem health, biodiversity, and human well-being, driving innovation toward healthier communities and a more sustainable future.
Participants can choose from seven specific tracks aligned with the project's goals: * Track 1: Citizen Science UX: Improve the experience for stream assessments with guided workflows and simplified terminology. * Track 2: Data-to-Insight: Turn citizen-collected data into actionable stream health and One Health insights via dashboards and trend analysis. * Track 3: AI-Supported Assessment: Use AI responsibly to validate observations and support human judgment. * Track 4: Awareness & Storytelling: Make One Health understandable and engaging through educational modules and personalized insights. * Track 5: Community & Gamification: Drive sustained participation through gamification and social features. * Track 6: Resilience Informatics: Enable early warning and resilience planning with predictive tools. * Track 7: Digital Health Standards: Enable interoperability across systems using FHIR models and integration frameworks.
Teams must submit a track-aligned project description, a demo video (3–5 mins), a code repository, and a working prototype or mockup. All results will be showcased on the OneAquaHealth Open Information Hub.
Prizes include: * 1st Prize: Winner title. * Runner Up: $1,000. * Third Place: Second Runner Up title. * Special Mention: For teams close to the top 3. * Certificates: IEEE Certificate of Merit for the top 3 winning teams and IEEE Certificate of Participation for all eligible participants. * Recognition: Eligible winners who are IEEE members may be nominated for IEEE Senior Member elevation.