The Ocean of Data Challenge is an event where participants work use one or more types of ocean data to create a diagram, a technology solution, an analysis of data, or something else, as long as it is a solution to the Challenge. To help narrow down the scope of the challenge, it is broken down into three Challenge Streams: Under the Water, On the Water, and Around the Water.
DeepSense and the Centre of Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship (COVE) decided to join forces to create an event that not only shows the importance of ocean data, but also to encourage interdisciplinary thinking! The ocean sector isn’t just for marine biologists and fishers, there are numerous opportunities for those working in oceans.
Any part-time or full-time students ar post-secondary institutions in Atlantic Canada are welcome to join either on their own or on a team of up to 5 people. We want to encourage interdisciplinary teams, so anyone one studying Computer Science, Engineering, Biology, Sustainability, Business, or any other programs is invited to join!
Keep an eye on our social media for when we announce the next Challenge. Once announced, you will be asked to sign up for the introduction webinar where you will learn more about the Challenge theme. Afterwards, signed up participants will be emailed a registration form and the challenge is kicked off.
To ensure any student across Atlantic Canada can participate, the challenge is all virtual.
Join the Ocean of Data Challenge, hosted by DeepSense, COVE, and ShiftKey Labs, for an exciting opportunity to collaborate and develop innovative ideas! This free event kicks off on November 4th, at 6 pm with an introduction to the challenge, expert presentations, and a Q&A session to help fuel your creativity. Participants must submit video entries by midnight on November 18th. Judges will review the submissions over the following week, and the winners will be announced on November 26th.
The Ocean of Data Challenge invites participants to dive into data at their own pace, showcasing their skills while competing for cash prizes! The challenge is divided into three streams: On the Water, In the Water, and Around the Water. Participants will select one stream and develop interdisciplinary ideas to enhance coastal resilience. Each stream offers a unique lens for exploring various types of data, encouraging innovative approaches to address coastal challenges.
Challenge Stream #1 Theme: On the Water
This theme explores the effects of climate change on fisheries, shipping, and recreation. Changing ocean conditions can disrupt fish populations, reduce catches, and threaten commercially important species. Meanwhile, shifting ocean currents and stronger storms often create dangerous and unpredictable conditions that disrupt shipping routes, port operations, and recreational activities.
Challenge Stream #2 Theme: In the Water
This theme examines the effects of climate change on coastal marine ecosystems. Warmer and more acidic ocean waters often result in habitat alteration, food chain disruption, reduced biodiversity, and impacts on the growth/reproduction of species. Additionally, as storms increase in both frequency and intensity, there is an increased risk of habitat destruction, nutrient pollution, and the introduction of invasive species.
Challenge Stream #3 Theme: Around the Water
This theme explores the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of climate change on coastal communities. Climate change has increased coastal vulnerability through rising sea levels, increased coastal erosion, and stronger storms. These impacts can result in damage to infrastructure, flooding of low-level areas, community displacement, loss of livelihood, and destruction of natural habitats.
Great ideas often emerge from diverse perspectives, so we encourage students from all disciplines to participate – whether that be computer science, engineering, biology, sustainability, business, or any other program! Participants must be current students (full-time or part-time) or recent graduates (within the past 12 months) of a post-secondary institution in Atlantic Canada. You can choose to work solo or collaborate with a team of up to five members. Please make sure to review the Official Rules below.
The Rules
November 2 – 9, 2021
Post-secondary students from institutions across Atlantic Canada are invited to use ocean data to explore the opportunities with the proposed Bedford Ferry and help transform the daily commute of thousands living in the Halifax Regional Municipality.
February 8 – 15, 2022
The Ocean Frontier Institute joins COVE and DeepSense to help host the second Ocean of Data Challenge. Teams explored interdisciplinary ideas and concepts that would help coastal communities adapt to impacts cause by climate change.
May 2 – 20, 2022
Join the Halifax Port Authority, PSA Halifax, COVE and DeepSense for the next Ocean of Data Challenge!
PSA Halifax now owns the Fairview and the Atlantic Hub container terminals in Halifax, making our port unified like few others. The Port of Halifax now has one terminal operator, one railroad operator, and one port authority. This change helps Halifax become a One Port City and will create new opportunities for our community.
November 7 – 21, 2022
Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship (COVE), DeepSense, and ShiftKey Labs hosted the fourth Ocean Data Challenge supporting creative collaboration and idea generation. Students were invited to use ocean data to examine what should our future digital harbour look like.
February 13 – 27, 2023
Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship (COVE), DeepSense, and ShiftKey Labs hosted the fifth Ocean Data Challenge supporting creative collaboration and idea generation. We are surrounded by text data. From social media, books, magazines, journal publications, and handwritten documents, there is no shortage of text about the ocean or climate change. Participants used this challenge to explore text data and share something insightful, shocking or simply informative.
May 24 – June 5, 2023
The sixth OOD Challenge was hosted by DeepSense, The PIER, COVE, and ShiftKey Labs.
Participants were asked to imagine new ways to bring together the City of Halifax and the Port of Halifax in a greener, more efficient and sustainable way, to answer the ultimate question: How can we create a greener port?
With 100 students registered, 5 different Atlantic Canada universities represented, and a total of 12 different academic programs, we would all this a huge success!
November 1 – 20, 2023
The seventh OOD Challenge was hosted by DeepSense, COVE, ShiftKey Labs, Ocean Startup Project, CIOOS, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Participants were asked to imagine how can ocean data help us understand Canada’s ocean health, ocean economy, and ocean people?
With 240 students registered, 10 different post-secondary schools across Canada represented, and a total of 14 different academic programs, we would call this a huge success!
1 – 20 novembre 2023
Le septième défi Océan de données a été organisé par DeepSense, COVE, ShiftKey Labs, le Projet Startup Océan, le SIOOC et Pêches et Océans Canada.
Les participant(e)s ont été invité(e)s à imaginer comment les données océaniques peuvent nous aider à comprendre la santé des océans, l’économie des océans et les populations océaniques du Canada.
Avec 240 étudiants inscrits, 10 écoles postsecondaires différentes à travers le Canada représentées, et un total de 14 programmes académiques différents, nous pourrions qualifier cet événement d’énorme succès !
5 – 20 February 2024
Postsecondary students were invited to consider the role of the seafood industry in Canada. Answer the ultimate question: How does the seafood industry impact Canadians? Participants used fisheries, aquaculture, and trade data to examine how we can illuminate the significant role of the seafood industry in our day to day lives.
10 – 23 June 2024
This Data Challenge invited participants to consider how the Halifax Harbour may respond to an unexpected event. Answer the ultimate question: What are the impacts of a rare event on the Halifax Harbour? We invited students at post-secondary institutions and recent graduates across Atlantic Canada to use vessel, ecosystem, and community data to examine how we can illuminate the significant role of the Halifax Harbour in many of our day to day lives through this Challenge.
Our newsletter and online community will help you connect with like-minded people, learn about how to participate in the growing potential of AI, and discover the infinite uses of ocean data.