The fourth edition of EU Datathon, the open data competition, has been launched on 19 February.

To take part, you should propose the development of an application that links and uses open datasets, of which at least one from the thousands made available by the EU institutions, agencies and bodies. For more detailed information, see the rules of the competition.

Your application should showcase opportunities for concrete business models or social enterprises. It is also expected to find suitable new approaches and solutions to help Europe achieve important goals set by the European Commission through the use of open data.

The current edition of the EU Datathon is the result of merging two separated initiatives: EU Regions hackathon #ideas4EU (main organiser DG REGIO of the European Commission since 2019) and EU Datathon (main organiser Publications Office of the European Union since 2017).

What are the challenges?

• Challenge 1: ‘A European Green Deal’
• Challenge 2: ‘An economy that works for people’
• Challenge 3: ‘A new push for European democracy’
• Challenge 4: ‘A Europe fit for the digital age’

What are the prizes?

This is your chance to demonstrate the potential that open data present in today’s society and, of course, your creativity and talent! It is also your chance to claim your share of the total prize fund amounting to EUR 100 000.

Twelve winning teams (i.e. three teams per challenge) will be shortlisted. If you are among them, you will be invited to develop your application and present it on 13-15 October during the 18th European Week of Regions and Cities in Brussels, an event that attracts more than 9 000 participants from all over the world.

The final ranking of the winning teams for each challenge will be decided at this event and the teams will be awarded the following prizes (for each of the challenges):

• First place: EUR 12 000
• Second place: EUR 8 000
• Third place: EUR 5 000

The EU Datathon 2020 is organised by the Publications Office of the European Union, in close collaboration with the European Commission Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy.