ASU/Devex Hackathon

As a part of Devex World 2020, Arizona State University and Devex hosted a global hackathon. Based on the model from the PLuS Alliance and Devils Invent, the hackathon called on students to create solutions to 5 real-world development challenges aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

University students from over forty participating universities across six continents developed sustainable solutions to the world’s challenges through collaboration, innovation and interdisciplinary creativity and expert judges selected a winning team for each challenge based on impact, innovation, and scalability. One winning team in each challenge category showcased its solution at Devex World. View the winning solutions and all finalist submissions below.

Problem Statements

Business Transforming Development Challenge

Communicating for Impact Challenge

Data Revolution Challenge

Innovation at Scale Challenge

Future of Development Finance Challenge

Hackathon Winners

Business Transforming Development

Communicating for Impact

Data Revolution

Innovation at Scale

Future of Development Finance

Judges

Micah Berman

Micah Berman leads product and technical grantmaking at Google.org. His work seeks to build a better world by empowering nonprofits around the globe with advanced technology and product design in service of their beneficiaries. Since joining Google in 2013, he has fought web search abuse as an engineering analyst and led Google.org’s global Impact Challenge open call program. Micah’s first ever job was building his elementary school’s website. He graduated from Pomona College with a degree in Psychology and lives in Oakland, CA.

Micah Berman

Manager of Product & AI, google.org

Stephen Chacha

Stephen Chacha, is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Tanzania Data Lab,a data and innovation lab that works towards harnessing the data revolution and the 4th industrial revolution to address development challenges, and strengthening the data and innovation ecosystems in Tanzania and Africa. Prior to this role he was the National Program Coordinator for MCC-PEPFAR Data Collaboratives for Local Impact program in Tanzania.

Stephen Chacha

Co-Founder & Executive DIrector, Tanzania Data Lab

Lisa Cornish

Lisa Cornish is a Senior Reporter based in Canberra, where she focuses on the Australian aid community. Lisa formerly worked with News Corp Australia as a data journalist for the national network and was published throughout Australia in major metropolitan and regional newspapers, including the Daily Telegraph in Melbourne, Herald Sun in Melbourne, Courier-Mail in Brisbane, and online through news.com.au.

Lisa Cornish

Senior Reporter, Devex

Dr. Felix Florencio Cárdenas del Castillo

Dr. Cárdenas is the Director of the Center for Innovation and Corporate Entrepreneurship. He has post-doctorates from Harvard and Columbia and studied his PhD at HEC UNIL and EPFL in Switzerland. He obtained an MBA from EGADE, and an MBA in International Business at NHH in Norway, and graduate studies in industrial engineering from Sophia University in Tokyo, and engineering at TEC de Monterrey and UT Austin.

Dr. Felix Florencio Cárdenas del Castillo

Professor, Tec de Monterrey

Abba Gumel

Abba Gumel is a Foundation Professor of Mathematics at the School of Mathematical and Statistical Science, Arizona State University (he is also the Foundation Professor of Mathematics). He received his PhD in Mathematics from Brunel University, England, in 1994, and has been Professor of Mathematics at the University of Manitoba, Canada (1999-2014).

Abba Gumel

Professor, Arizona State University

Fatima-Zohra Iflahen

Fatima-Zohra Iflahen is currently an English Filière Associate Professor at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of Cadi Ayyad University. She is Coordinator of the Research Group On Women’s and Gender Studies GISR and Deputy Director of the Research Lab LIMPACT (Language, Identity, Media and Culture). She received a Ph.D. in North American Studies from the Sorbonne in 1998 and holds a Specialized Degree (DESS) in Migration and Development. Throughout her career, whether in her teaching, supervision or research activities, she has focused on gender issues.

Fatima-Zohra Iflahen

Associate Professor, Cadi Ayyad University

Monica Keretts-Makau

Dr. Monica Kerretts-Makau is the Academic Director & Professor of Practice at Thunderbird's Center for Excellence in Africa based in Nairobi. Her passion and work focus on Governance, Change Management and ICT4D. She has received several accolades including the top 100 Reputational Africans 2018 and Top 100 Influential Africans 2017.

Monica Keretts-Makau

Academic Director & Professor of Practice, Thunderbird's Center for Excellence

Alexandria Lafci

Alexandria has more than a decade of work, academic, and volunteer experience in domestic and international development. She has taught in inner city D.C., led financial capacity building efforts in rural Central America, and briefed African heads of state on poverty alleviation through land reform. Alexandria is a Y-Combinator alum and, in 2016, she was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.

Alexandria Lafci

Co-founder and COO, New Story

Mary Jane Parmentier

Mary Jane C. Parmentier, Clinical Associate Professor at Arizona State University, directs the M.S. in Global Technology and Development (GTD) program in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society. The GTD program, which she co-designed in 2000, is an international development masters that highlights and examines the variable of technology, particularly emerging technologies, in the development process.

Mary Jane Parmentier

Associate Professor, Arizona State University

Paul Ramadge

Mr Ramadge is Managing Director of the PLuS Alliance, which brings together the standing and excellence of King’s College London, UNSW Sydney and Arizona State University. With leadership experience in multi-stakeholder environments, notably in the communications and higher education sectors, he leads the development and implementation of strategic research and education initiatives for the Alliance, working closely with a Governance Board and Advisory Board.

Paul Ramadge

Managing Director, PLuS Alliance

Susan Reichle

Susan Reichle is President and CEO of the International Youth Foundation—a global non-profit dedicated to equipping and inspiring young people everywhere to transform their lives. As CEO, Susan has oguided the development and implementation of a new, three-year strategic plan, Transformation 2022; led the design of IYF’s pivotal Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) policy; and championed practices of organizational transparency and data-driven accountability. Before joining IYF, Susan spent 25 years in leadership and advisory positions at USAID.

Susan Reichle

President & CEO, International Youth Foundation

Kaspars Rūklis

Kaspars Rūklis is a program manager for Media Literacy in the Baltics Program at IREX. Before undertaking this role, he worked as international communication trainer on advocacy projects in Europe and Africa, and as a lecturer at several Baltic universities, teaching mass communication. Kaspars also has extensive experience in public diplomacy and public affairs, with a focus on media relations. He holds a graduate degree in communication science from the University of Latvia. Besides his native Latvian, he also speaks English, Russian and Estonian.

Kaspars Rūklis

Program Manager for Media Literacy, Baltics Program, IREX

Hannah Sheridan

Hannah Sheridan is the Manager of UNSW’s Institute for Global Development and has served in this role since its inception in 2016. She holds a Master of International Development and Master of Education and has supported Academic staff to deliver development programs in Africa, Asia, The Pacific, and in Australian Indigenous communities.

Hannah Sheridan

Manager, UNSW Institute for Global Development

Patricia Solis

Patricia Solís, PhD, is Executive Director of the Knowledge Exchange for Resilience at Arizona State University, an interdisciplinary effort to link multi-sector community needs with research innovations around resilience to economic shocks, social disruption, and environmental threats. Her disciplinary expertise centers on the application of participatory geospatial technologies for humanitarian, environment and development needs. She is an Associate Research Professor in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning at ASU.

Patricia Solis

Executive Director of the Knowledge Exchange for Resilience, Arizona State University

Matt Wolf

Matt is a trilingual development professional and data scientist specialized in translating data into actionable insight for international development organizations. With a career built in global data and technology firms and an academic background in development finance, Matt has led and worked with multicultural teams across distances and in person, with work experience on the ground in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Matt Wolf

Business Analyst, Wave Mobile Money

Marie-Claude Zando

Marie-Claude is the Chief of Party of the Des Chiffres et Des Jeunes (DCDJ) program in Côte d’Ivoire. She is based in Abidjan and is the primary project manager and focal point for all DCDJ activities, focusing on DCDJ Fellowship project and operational management, client/funder relations, and marketing and communications on the program.