“2024 Sharing Economy Campus MAKE-a-thon, 4th edition”

The KU-Cambridge Sharing Economy MAKEathon is here!

We invite you to dream up world-changing innovations, centered around the keywords of sharing economy, business, and campus. It will be a wonderful time for individuals from various disciplines, driven by a common passion and interest in sustainability, to come together to develop brilliant ideas and create experiences that make a difference in the real world.

In particular, this year's MAKEathon will be held in tandem with the Anabada & Sustainable Design Exhibition held on Day 2 (2024/01/22) at 싱싱주스 in the basement of the KU campus' central plaza ( 고려대학교 안암캠퍼스 중앙광장 지하 싱싱주스).

As part of the MAKEathon, there will be a fun swapping event where people can bring in items that are still usable but no longer needed and exchange them with fellow campus members, as well as share memories and stories about the items.

There will also be a sustainable fashion design exhibition, giveaways, and more.

The University of Cambridge and Korea University Graduate School are organizing the MAKEathon on Korea University (Seoul campus)' campus.

Various inspirations, building materials, ideation sessions, inspirational lectures, and expert mentoring will be prepared for you so that you can come up with novel ideas, prototype, and create business models to help solve difficult sustainable problems.

[Why a Sharing Economy MAKEathon?]

Every summer, we have record-breaking heat, and every winter, we have record-breaking cold. Remember last summer's record-breaking rainy season?

Every day we are reminded that climate change is not a faraway fantasy, and it's frustrating to not know where to start or what to do to make a difference. But we can't just sit back and let it happen, we have so much to look forward to!

The good news is that according to the analysis of scientists at the Intergovernmental Panel fo Climate Change (IPCC), there are many things we can do right now.

For this MAKEathon, we want to draw your attention to the concept of a sharing economy, which can make a significant contribution to reducing industrial greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the demand for primary materials, both in terms of resource efficiency and circular economy, which was identified as a scalable and efficient innovation in the 6th report in 2022.

Beyond greenhouse gases, the sharing economy also contributes to the efficient use of energy and resources, minimizing waste, reducing water consumption, and circulating resources.

What can we do to make the sharing economy flourish on our campus right now? What will it take to turn the campus sharing economy - sharing and swapping used items - into a behavior that is cooler than conventional consumption?

An easy-to-use and convenient platform? A package to educate consumers? A fun playground for the sharing economy? A way to unlock the stories behind objects? A new way to make friends? We look forward to hearing your ideas!

[KU-Cambridge Sharing Economy MAKEathon Challenge topic].

Participants will work in groups around this edition's topic/theme:

 "Develop a business idea for a product or service that encourages people to 'share' things instead of buying them and throwing them away indiscriminately."

[What is a MAKEathon?]

A MAKEathon is an innovation competition that brings together like-minded individuals and provides them with the materials, inspiration, mentorship, and space to come up with creative innovations in a set time frame.

Participants share their unique perspectives and experiences with each other to create great innovations that would be difficult to come up with on their own.

A MAKEathon takes the free-form format of a hackathon and adds a prototyping element, where participants experiment and develop their ideas by working with materials and tools in a makerspace.

[Who can participate?]

The KU-Cambridge Sharing Economy MAKEathon is open to anyone who is passionate about solving sustainability and climate change issues, believes in resource efficiency and the potential of the sharing economy, and wants to have fun creating innovative ideas that can change the world.

However, KU graduate students are encouraged to apply (general/special/specialized graduate school, Sejong campus, and exchange students are all eligible to participate).

You don't need to be a sustainability expert or a researcher specialized in the sharing economy, just a willingness to combine your unique expertise and passion to solve problems together.

We believe in the synergies that come from bringing together diverse majors. We value diversity, so we encourage people from all walks of life to apply. Don't miss this opportunity to make a circle of like-minded friends!

[When?] A total 3 days

- January 19, 2024 (Fri; Online),

- January 22-23 (Mon-Tues; Korea University Anam Campus X-Garage)

[Where?]

- Online: ZOOM (Participation code will be delivered to the participation application authors via email)

- Offline: X-Garage, Anam Campus, Korea University, Seoul, Korea

[Participation Benefits]

- Certificate of completion issued by the Center for Industrial Sustainability (CIS), Cambridge University, UK

- Special lectures by experts on the sharing economy (Jung Ju-yeon, ReWear Institute; Hong Na-hee, WWF Korea)

- Expert mentoring and research exchange opportunities with various majors

- Winning team: Support for participation in intensive startup training at Korea University's Crimson Startup Support Group (worth KRW 1.25 million per person)

[Grand Prize]

The winning team will be supported to participate in the intensive startup training program of the Korea University Crimson Startup Support Group.

The startup intensive training supports 'lab-to-market' startup education and nurturing so that technology-based startup items can be utilized in the market in a short time (scheduled to be held from January 29th to February 3rd, worth 2.5 million won per person for individual participation).

[How does a MAKEathon work?]

This MAKEathon will be held both online and offline.

- Day 1 (Friday, January 19): Participants receive a detailed introduction to the MAKE-a-thon challenge, meet online for the first time, and form teams. Attend webinars by experts in the field to get inspired, followed by team ideation sessions. Teams will have the weekend to work on their own activities.

- Day 2 (Monday, January 22):  Anavada event and a day of idea refinement and mentoring. Teams will explore and develop the ideas they brought and discuss them with mentors. During the Anavada event, participants will showcase the items they brought for swapping and recruit others to experience the sharing economy firsthand.

- Day 3 (Tuesday, January 23): A day of refining and finalizing ideas. Teams develop their business models and prototypes and prepare their final pitches.  At the end of the day, we'll have a final pitch and a winning team.

[Detailed schedule]

[Application]

The application deadline: Tuesday, January 16, 2024.

Link to the online application form: https://forms.gle/ZwjxY8vVw5bNvvsU9

We accept both individual applications and team applications with a maximum of 3 people per team.

- If you are unable to attend due to unavoidable circumstances after applying, please contact the organizing team immediately.

- Applicants will be contacted via email. Please check your email.

[MAKE-a-thon organizers]

The Korea University-Cambridge Sustainable Living Paradigm (SLP) MAKE-a-thon Series is a program led by the BK Sustainable Living System Education Project of Korea University (고려대학교의 BK지속가능생활시스템 교육사업단) in collaboration with the Industrial Sustainability Research Center of the University of Cambridge, UK.

The SLP MAKE-a-thon Series is designed to provide an opportunity every year for individuals who are passionate about sustainable living and working to help create new innovations.

Our MAKE-a-thon partners include:

- The Industrial Sustainability Research Center (IfM) at the University of Cambridge, School of Engineering and Manufacturing, UK

- Korea University Graduate Innovation Center (고려대학교 대학원혁신센터)

- Korea University X-Garage (고려대학교 엑스가라지)

- Korea University Crimson Entrepreneurship Center (고려대학교 크림슨 창업지원단)

For any inquiry, please contact:

BK21 Sustainable Living System Education Research Center Makerthon (jm_han@korea.ac.kr)