Hackathon at 30,000 feet
by Startacus Admin
It’s a week for planes. Our dear friends at The Employable this week wrote about how to become a pilot, the new World War Z trailer has something to do with a plane (albeit, crashing) and now; 
British Airways are hosting a ‘Hackathon’ Tech Challenge at 30,000 feet.
The trip will take participants from San Francisco to London as part of British Airways ‘unGrounded’ campaign, and will see more than 100 of Silicon Valley’s brightest academics, tech-heads, entrepreneurs and innovators come on board. They’ll be working to come up with tangible solutions to global problems over the course of the 11 hour flight. The entire operation is intended as an allegory for the potential that technology has; bringing people from all over the world together, and then through their ideas – moving things forward.
Specifically, the participants (who could also simply be referred to in this case as ‘passengers’) will aim to tackle the problem of talent crunch; essentially matching talented individuals with genuine opportunities. Not since ‘Snakes on a Plane’ will so many people have worked together to overcome a major social problem at this altitude.
The participants though, are, thankfully, less inclined to bite each other. They will include Wikipedia boss Jimmy Wells, Sir Bob Geldof, Rosario Dawson and others selected for their ‘energy, ideas and experience.’
The idea is the brainchild of the DNA – Decide Now Act – summit, which creates a network of innovators with the intent of resolving global issues. When the plane lands, the participants will be asked to present their work and findings in the House of Lords to the Summit, as well as to the Secretary General of the ITU – the UN agency responsible for information and communication technologies.
DNA’s website on the event highlights the potential gains from the venture which BA believes illustrates their commitment to forward thinking and social entrepreneurial spirit. One just hopes there isn’t too much turbulence.
Written by Ethan Loughrey
If you like what you see here on Startacus and want to get involved yourself, why not become a member of our growing community by joining for free here!
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
1 in 10 UK kids spending more than 50 hours per week watching TV, playing video games or interacting with a smartphone according to the findings of a report conducted by Care.com
“Free-from” food-to-go startup Pollen + Grace to launch into national supermarkets Tesco and Co-Op, continuing its mission to bring exciting healthy meals to the high street.
Skyports - The drone focused startup that is creating end to end cargo and passenger drone delivery solutions
Bristol and Bath based early-stage startups and entrepreneurs take note - here's the lowdown on key startup support and help available where you are...
Artificial intelligence platform Ricochet is on an AI mission to find new business leads that fit the needs of your company.
From understanding more about how a business can invoice effectively to avoid late payments, to what debt recovery means, to how to take legal action against overdue debt.
For businesses, where getting maximum return on their investment is the name of the game, detecting the next big thing in its infancy is crucial.
If you’re counting on receiving a payment, days or even months after the due date, it’s time to take action. Here's some handy tips for dealing with late payments.
The challenges of working with a business partner or another co-founder, as told by 12 of the UK’s top startup co-founders
Published on: 3rd April 2013
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.
- 1 in 10 UK kids spend more than 50 hours a week in front of a screen 20th Feb 2019 1 in 10 UK kids spending more than 50 hours per week watching TV, playing video games or interacting with a smartphone according to the findings of a report conducted by Care.com
- Startup Weekend Dublin immigration aims to builds ideas not borders 7th Feb 2019 Migrants are gonna surround us, With ideas! We take a look at Startup Weekend Dublin immigration...
- Sports facility management platform Pitchbooking nets £250k investment 6th Feb 2019 SportTech Belfast startup Pitchbooking, secures £250k investment to help become the market leader in sports facility management.
- Too Good To Go raises further €6m to keep fighting food waste everywhere 6th Feb 2019 Fast growing tech for good app Too Good To Go raises a further €6 million to accelerate its mission to eliminate food waste globally, taking its total investment to €16m.
