Water Fintech Hackathon

Rules and Terms

Before reading the Rules of this Challenge, we kindly advise you to check our General User Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy of the TAIKAI Platform.

1. ORGANIZATION OF THE CHALLENGE

The Water Fintech Hackathon is managed by IWEK e.V. (Schöneberger Str. 9, 10963 Berlin, VR 37030 B, Amtsgericht Charlottenburg) and Startup Colors UG (Pettenkoferstr. 4c, 10247 Berlin, registered in Charlottenburg/Berlin under HRB 193567) (hereinafter referred to as the “Startup Colors”). the Challenge shall take place from June 10 until July  26, 2024 (hereinafter referred to as the “Challenge”).  IWEK e.V. and Startup Colors shall be considered as the organizer of the Challenge (hereinafter referred to as the “Organizer”).

2. DEFINITIONS

In this document:

• “Prizes”: refers to the prizes awarded to the Winners at the end of the Challenge.
• “Overview”: refers to the specifications determined by the Organiser, which may include the deadlines, the prizes, the guidelines and themes to be complied with by all Innovators contributions.
• “Challenge”: refers to the challenge that is the subject of the Rules, as organized by the Organizer.
• “Intellectual Property Rights” means all the following ownership legal rights, worldwide, whether registrable or unregistrable, and whether registered or unregistered, with respect to any designs, trade secrets, copyrights, works of authorship, neighbouring rights, mask works, Know-how, Software and all the industrial rights, such as trademarks, industrial designs or patents;
• “General User Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy”: designate the general terms of use of the TAIKAI’s website and its Privacy Policy, accepted by every Innovator during the creation of a TAIKAI user account and readable on taikai.network
• “Projects”: refers to the Team and to all submissions, original ideas, documents or other materials (such as presentations, videos, code, websites, etc.) uploaded to the Website by Innovators in response and as a solution to this Challenge;
• “Backers”: refers to the jury responsible for selecting the winning Projects.
• “Innovator” (= Hackers): refers to any person registered in accordance with the Rules who takes part in the Challenge. 
• “Registration”: refers to the registration of an Innovator in accordance with the Rules.
• “Rules”: refers to these terms, which apply to the Challenge.
• “Team”: refers to the team of innovators (2 to 5 per team), created on the platform in order to take part in the Challenge.
• “Winner” or “Winners”: refers to the members of the Projects that reach the final stage of the Challenge and are ranked by the Backers as winning teams.

3. PURPOSE OF THE RULES

3.1. Rules are intended to define the terms and rules of participation in the Challenge organized by IWEK e.V. & Startup Colors. Rules are destined to complete the General User Terms & Conditions and the Privacy Policy of the TAIKAI Platform, which can be downloaded through the links provided previously. In the event of inconsistency between these rules and regulations and those of the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy, these Rules will prevail.

3.2. The Innovator should be aware and agree to the fact that the proposed Challenge calls on his/her wisdom, skill, and cleverness during extremely difficult trials. The Challenge shall not depend, even partially, on chance and luck under any circumstances, and can therefore not be considered as, or resemble a lottery.

4. CONDITIONS FOR ENTERING THE CHALLENGE

4.1. Participation in this Challenge is free.

4.2. The Innovator must read these Rules, and fully accept their terms in their entirety without reservation before its Registration and participation in the Challenge.

4.3. Participation to the Challenge is under the conditions of: being any person of legal age.

4.4. The Innovator guarantees that he/she will abide by the rules mentioned above. The delivery of the Prize will be conditional upon the capacity of the Innovator to meet the conditions stated.

4.5. There is only one entry per person in the Challenge.

4.6. Innovators must form teams of 2 to 5 members.

4.7. To be eligible for the pitch, your team has to have at least 3 touch points with the organisers in the Hackweek between July 22 - 26, 2024, one need to be attendance at the Pitch Coaching Workshop or a scheduled 1:1 session with our Pitch Coach.

4.8. Any Innovator and/or Team who doesn’t abide by the terms of the Rules during his/her Registration and at any time during the Challenge will be automatically and without previous notification, disqualified from the Challenge and shall not be awarded any Prize. In the case where a Prize would have been given to an Innovator and/or Team who doesn’t or didn’t comply with the Rules at the time of his/her Registration or during the Challenge, the Organizer has the discretionary right to demand the return of the Prize received.

5. REGISTRATION AND ACCESS TO THE CHALLENGE

5.1. For his/her Registration to the Challenge, each Innovator must open a user account on taikai.network and must indicate the following:

• A valid username
• A valid email address
• A valid password to validate their Registration, the Innovator must accept the General Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy provided by TAIKAI.

To complete his/her Registration in the Challenge, the Innovator must opt-in on the box indicating that he/she accepts the Challenge Regulations.

A confirmation email containing a confirming link is sent to the Innovator’s listed email address. Once his/her account is confirmed, the Innovator can freely participate and complete their profile.

5.2. Any Registration containing wrong, dubious, or incomplete information shall not be taken into account and disqualifies the Innovator and/or the Innovator’s Team from the Challenge.

5.3. By registering, the Innovator accepts being contacted through email by the Organizer, for the duration of his/her participation in the Challenge.

6. DURATION OF THE CHALLENGE

6.1. The Challenge shall take place from the June 10 until August 30. 2024..

• The Challenge will be revealed and registration will begin on June 10, 2023
• Registration for participation will close on August 26., 2024.
• Project submission will take place from the June 10 until August 27., 2024.
• Hacking will occur between August 26 and August 30, 2024.
• Results / Pitch Decks / Github Repositories will be uploaded on August 30. 2024.
• Winners will be announced on August 30, 2024, after 06:00 PM CET.

6.2. Every date clearly defined in these Rules and the Challenge is in the Berlin time zone (CET), and refers to the year 2024.

6.3. Where necessary, due to operational requirements, the Organizer reserves the right to alter the duration of the Challenge by a reasonable amount of time, which will be conveyed to Innovators.

7. PRINCIPLE OF THE CHALLENGE

7.1. The deliverable must absolutely respond to the Challenge definition and rules described in this document. The deliverable must be written in English; no other language will be accepted. The Organizer will not accept nor review any other documents submitted by the Innovators.

8. DELIVERABLES

8.1. The Project Deliverables must respond to one of the Challenge definition and rules described in the tab “Rules” on the Challenge page.

8.2. Between August 26 and August 30. 2024, the Innovators will have to publish on the platform, their Project Description, comprised of:

• Problem statement related to challenge
• Description of solution approach, brief explanation of what the tech solution does and what makes it unique and what relevance it has for Mylokaiv
• Potential long-term impact
• Team description
• Screenshots or pictures
• Source Code link / Technology Stack used (if applicable)
• Target Profile (Age, Gender, Demography, etc.)

8.3. Besides Project Description, participants should attach to the Project:

• Slide Presentation about the solution and/or
• Screenshots, Image, Diagrams and Videos

8.4. Attachments, video, and resources with more than 15MB can't be accepted.

8.5. In the case of difficulty or failure to read the deliverable, Innovators from these Projects will be notified and are responsible for re-submitting before the step’s end date. If the deadline is passed, the Project at hand will be disqualified from the Challenge.

8.6. Innovators guarantee that the content of the Project consists only of their Team’s contributions and none others. If there are suspicions that contributions are from a third party, all Innovators from that Team may be disqualified.

9. SELECTION PROCESS

9.1. The Project Selection takes place on August 30. 2024

9.2. Selection uses the following set of criteria: 

• Problem-Solution-Fit based on the chosen challenge 
• Level of Innovation: How sophisticated and well-made is the technical implementation? To what extent has the application been completed within the weekend? 
• Feasibility of Idea: How realistic is the implementation of the idea? Can the solution be brought into life by further research projects or by founding a company?
• Impact and Business Approach How can the idea be monitored / realised as an impact business (viability)
• Team Set-up / Diversity
• Presentation / Pitch: Are you able to tell your story?

Factors relating to a person's appearance, religious or trade union, political opinions or sexual orientation are under no circumstances considered for selection. Selection by way of chance or luck will not result in any way, whether that be directly or indirectly.

9.2. A qualified set of Backers (Jury) to choose the best projects will be composed by the Organizer will be announced on August 26, 2024.

10. IMAGE COPYRIGHT

The use of photos or images must be free from copyright. In any case, the Organizer will not be held responsible for the use of Intellectual Property for which third parties have rights.

11. PRIZES

11.1. Prizes referred to in this section are given to Innovators if the following rules are met: 

• The delivery of Projects is in line with the quality standards 
• Innovators accept and abide by section 12 on Intellectual Property for each Winner;
• Innovators accept and abide by the rules regarding the disclosure of information regarding Winners on section 13.

No Prize can be delivered to the Winners if they do not meet these three conditions, as well as entirely comply with these Rules.

11.2. The deliverance of a Prize at the end of the Challenge is subject to, and is performed only when subjected to:

• The full abidance to the Rules determined for the Challenge;
• The presentation of documents from each Winner justifying that he/she respects the conditions stated on section 3.

11.3. Only Project Teams on the taikai.network website will be eligible for Winners and receive Prizes.

11.4. Every Innovator acknowledges that the Prize cannot be exchanged for money, replaced and/or exchanged for another Prize. It cannot be transferable, and Innovators are hereby informed that the sale or the exchange of the Prize is forbidden.

11.5. In event that the Prize is unavailable, the Organizer has the right to substitute the Prize for one of a similar value.

11.6. Every Innovator recognizes and accepts that the Organizer will not be held responsible, in any scenario, for the malfunction of the Prize or for any harmful consequences caused to the Winner or a third party because of the Prize. The Organizer will not provide any partner warranty service or assistance.

11.7. Every Innovator recognizes and accepts that the Organizer’s responsibility with regards to the Reward is its deliverance to Winners only. All extra costs related to Prizes will, unless otherwise stipulated in the Rules, be charged to the Winners. Neither coverage nor refund will be owed as such.

11.8. Winners will be informed by the Organizer about their Prize via email, at the latest, 10 days after the end of the challenge, to their accounts communicated upon Registration on the taikai.network. The Innovator commits to respect and follow the directions indicated in this email. However, in the event where a Winner does not take possession of the Prize, for reasons unaffected by the Organizer, if there is a 2-month delay since the reception of the email, the Organizer has the right to expire the Prize from the Winner.

11.9. Winners of the three projects with the highest number of tokens based on the Leadership board will be awarded with the following prizes with a total value of 1,000 Euro:

• 1. Prize: 1 Month Access to Remote GPU with a value of 500 Euro provided by Startup Colors UG
• 2. Prize: 1 Amazon Voucher value 300 Euro per Team
• 3. Prize: 2 ON-THE-GO passes for One Coworking providing 8 day passed to 100+ Coworking Spaces across Europe (https://www.onecoworking.com) with a value of 200 Euro

Every hacker will also receive a Certificate of Attendance provided by the Mayor of Mykolaiv.

12. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

12.1. Definition "Intellectual property rights" refers to any Invention, any copyright or other rights over a brand or model and, more generally, any element that may be protected by international laws or conventions on intellectual property.

12.2. Any Project involving several Innovators constitutes collaborative work.

12.3. As such, the Organizer is free to reproduce the Projects, to distribute them, to inform the public about them and to modify them. If the Projects are modified, altered or adapted, the Organizer may distribute the resulting derived work only in accordance with the terms agreed on these Rules.

12.4. Each Innovator guarantees that he/she is the co-owner and co-holder of the Intellectual Property Rights regarding all or part of the deliverables submitted as part of the Challenge for the Project of which he/she is a member, and that he/she has obtained all rights and permissions regarding all pre-existing elements and any elements for which he/she does not hold the rights if these elements are to be included in the deliverables of all voting phases. Each member of a Participating Team guarantees that his/her application is original and unprecedented, that it does not infringe upon the copyright of any third party, and that all the elements of which it is formed, as well as all pieces of information communicated in the application presentation document, are accurate, reliable and complete. It is compulsory for Innovators to indicate the source of any pre-existing elements (music, text, images, etc.) that are included in the deliverables.

Each Innovator ensures a good use of the deliverables provided by the Organizer, and as such ensures:

• that the deliverables submitted by the Team of which he/she is a member is original
• that it does not infringe on or imitate any copyright, patent, brand or any other intellectual property belonging to a third party,
• that it does not constitute an act of unfair competition or parasitical competition of any kind.
• that all the elements of which it is formed, as well as all pieces of information communicated in the deliverables, are accurate, reliable and complete.

Each Innovator indemnifies the Organizer and any present and future subsidiaries against any disturbance, action, claim, opposition, demand or eviction attempt from any third party.

12.5. During and after the end of the Challenge, the Innovators have the right to use and register the Intellectual Property resulting from the Projects created (e.g. code, algorithms, etc.) for their own personal and commercial use, as long as it may continue to be displayed as a project on the TAIKAI platform.

13. COMMUNICATION

13.1. Every Innovator authorizes the Organizer, in the case where he/she would be appointed Winner of the Challenge to use his/her last name, his/her first name, his/her city and region of residence, the name of his/her University/Startup or former University and his/her photograph, name in any promotional demonstration (except with the purchase of advertising space), including on the websites of Mylokaiv Water Hub and Startup Colors and any site or affiliated support, without that this use can legally give rise to any remuneration for 2 years maximum after the end of the Challenge.

14. LIABILITY

14.1. The responsibility of the Organizer cannot be engaged in case of breakdown or dysfunction of the used telecommunications network, whatever the cause is, which would have the effect of damaging or preventing the identification or the access of the Innovator on taikai.network or any other useful web site for the participation in the Challenge.

14.2. The participation in the Challenge implies knowledge and acceptance of the characteristics, limitations and risks of the internet network and the technologies which are linked to it, particularly in consideration of the performances, in response time, in the security of the software and the computer hardware towards diverse potential attacks such as viruses, logic bomb or Trojan horses and in the loss or diversion of data. Therefore, the Organizer cannot be held responsible for the damages caused to the Innovator because of these accepted characteristics, limitations and risks.

14.3. The Organizer cannot, in any case, be held responsible for any damage caused by the defect or the delay of delivery of the Projects, in particular for the refusal to consider late submissions, or for any damage caused by the impossibility to connect to the relevant websites or to upload/download correctly any delivery, the defect or the delivery time of any email sent during the Challenge, or for any damage caused by any hurdle preventing the Innovator attending or participating in the whole or part of the Challenge.

14.4. The Organizer cannot be held responsible in case of total or partial modification, suspension, interruption, adjournment or cancellation of the whole or part of the Challenge for reasons beyond their control. In such a case, the Organizer will inform the Innovators as soon as possible via the taikai.network or by any means it sees fit.

14.5. The Organizer cannot be held responsible for the consequences of a disqualification of an Innovator, and/or a Team, due to a violation of the Rules, and/or in case of rejection of a Project due to noncompliance with the Rules.

14.6. The Organizer shall not be liable for any trouble, action, claim, objection, claim related to the use of the Projects of the Organizer not foreseen by the Rules or in connection with the negotiation, execution or performance of contracts that the Organizer would sign with the Innovators.

14.7. In any case, the Organizer will not be held responsible for the delivery of the Prizes nor in case of impossibility for a Winner to benefit from his/her Prize for circumstances beyond Organizer’s control. The responsibility of the Organizer cannot be engaged in case of loss and/or deterioration of the Prize by post or any third similar service provider and more generally if the Winner does not receive his/her Prize. The responsibility of the Organizer cannot be engaged in case of incidents or of damages of all kinds, which could arise because of the enjoyment of the awarded Prize and/or because of its use.

15. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

15.1. “Confidential Information” is defined in this present Rules, is all the material or immaterial information of whatever nature, in particular administrative, commercial, scientific, technical, financial, fiscal, which was, is or will be communicated by the Organizer to the Innovator, directly or indirectly, and in a non-exhaustive way, orally, in writing, by delivery of paper or electronic documents. Information that is not confidential is:

• The currently accessible information or becoming accessible to the public without breach of the Rules from the Innovator,
• The information legally held by the Innovator before their disclosure by the Organizer,
• The information not resulting either directly or indirectly from the use of all or part of the Confidential Information,
• The information validly obtained close to a third party authorized to transfer or to reveal the information mentioned above.

15.2. For the duration of the Challenge and during a period of five (5) years after the end of the Challenge stated on section 6, the Innovator, under penalty of civil and / or criminal liability, commits to:

• Not using the Confidential Information for any other purposes than the participation in the Challenge in the conditions of the Regulations;
• Taking any necessary, useful and reasonable precaution to protect the Confidential Information;
• Not Revealing the Confidential Information to whomever, by any means whatsoever, except to the other members of his/her Team;

15.3. At the end of the Challenge, because of the emergence of their term indicated to Point 6 or of their cancellation, the Innovator will immediately have to put back to the Organizer all the Confidential Information, whatever their support is, obtained during the Challenge, under penalty of civil and / or criminal liability. The Innovator forbids himself from keeping copy in any form whatsoever, except with an on purpose, preliminary and written agreement by the Organizer.

16. RULES

16.1. The participation in the Challenge and the awarding of the Prize requires the acceptance purely and simply and the full respect for the Rules in all its terms. The Organizer reserves the right to disqualify, immediately and without compensation, every Innovator and/or Project not satisfying in full with the Rules.

18.2. The Organizer reserves the right to modify at any time the terms of the Rules, and during the Challenge without the requirement of notification to the Innovator, concerning the application and the validity of these modifications. The Innovator is invited to consult regularly the Rules. The Innovator gives up expressly any complaint or contesting linked to any modification brought to the Rules by the Organizer.

17. CANCELLATION AND SUSPENSION OF THE CHALLENGE

17.1. The Organizer reserves the right to cancel, shorten, suspend the Challenge without prior notice:

• In cases of greater force;
• If it appears that fraud has occurred in any form whatsoever;

17.2. The Organizer cannot be held responsible for cancellation or suspension of the Challenge according to the present Point and no allowance nor compensation will be due to the Innovator.

18. INDEPENDENCE

18.1. The Registration and participation in the Challenge are not, in any way, for effect to create a link of subordination between the Organizer and the Innovator.

19. CLAIMS

19.1. Any claim of the Innovator must be sent in writing during the last 30 days after the ending date of the Challenge.

19.2. Claims linked to the functioning of the website taikai.network must be formulated in writing at the following address: TAIKAI Building Connections, Av. Serpa Pinto 311, 4450-718 Matosinhos, Portugal

19.3. Claims linked to the progress of the Challenge and to the sending of the Prize must be formulated in writing at the following address: Startup Colors UG, Pettenkoferstr. 4c, 10247 Berlin, Germany

19.4. At the risk of being rejected, any claim has to contain: Full contact details of the Innovator (name, first name, address, zip code, city, taikai login and e-mail); The identification of the concerned Challenge; The clear and elaborate presentation of the motives for the claim.

20. PRELIMINARY RECONCILIATION

20.1. In case of persistent dispute after the Innovator has made a complaint in accordance with Point 19, the Organizer and Innovators agree to submit their dispute to an amicable settlement before any court proceedings.

20.2. The party eager to initiate conciliation must inform the other party through a registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt in which it will make him know his intentions and it will specify the cause.

20.3. If no agreement is reached between the parties within 30 days of the registered letter reception, parties regain their freedom of action.

21. APPLICABLE LAW

The Regulations and the Challenge are under German law. You accept that any litigation related to the Challenge will be submitted exclusively to the Court of Berlin.