AN 8-WEEK SPRINT TO SOLVE INDUSTRY'S THORNIEST PROBLEMS
Edmonton Unlimited’s Built World Challenge pairs local innovators with local corporations to solve technology problems those companies are facing right now.
Whether you’re a student, developer, researcher, designer, industry professional, or already an incorporated startup, you’ll join a multidisciplinary team, spend eight weeks building a real solution, and compete for the chance to put it in front of a paying customer.
Great startups begin with thorny problems. This is where you find one.
Why Join the Built World Challenge?
- Join a community to solve a real problem for a real company, sourced directly from industry.
- Join or build your own multidisciplinary team of students, developers, researchers, and industry professionals to solve the challenge.
- Prizes for the top teams: $3,000 for the winner, $1,000 for two runner-ups.
- Top teams may be invited to apply for funding through the Edmonton Unlimited Venture Pilots Program to implement their solution with actual customers.
- Student participants are eligible to receive a merit-based $550 stipend – see onboarding document for details.
Who Should Apply?
Anyone from Alberta who wants to build something real in eight weeks.
No company required, no prior startup experience required, no construction background required. Teams form after you apply, and run one to five people. An incorporated company is also eligible to apply.
Applications open Sept 17 and close Oct 13 at 12pm.
How it Works
Industry partners submit their technology challenges. You form a team and choose one challenge to solve. Over eight weeks your team tests ideas, builds a solution, and explores the commercial opportunity, with business and technical coaches supporting the top teams that advance.
Selected teams present at semi-finals in November, then at a public Demo Day in December. Top teams have the potential to receive funding through Edmonton Unlimited’s Venture Pilots program to implement their solution with customers.
This is a full-circle program, from ideation to field implementation.
THE CHALLENGES
BUILDING CODES CHALLENGE
Building codes are prescriptive. Innovators are creative. When a builder wants to use an alternative to what the code prescribes, they have to prepare an alternative solution application that objectively demonstrates equivalent or greater performance, then submit it to the Safety Codes Officer responsible for that jurisdiction.
Your challenge: build an AI-powered tool that gets those applications complete and code-referenced before they ever reach an officer. The tool needs to take in key information about the proposed alternative solution, identify the relevant building codes, and review the full application for completeness.
Sponsored by
Embodied Carbon Challenge
Whole-building embodied carbon assessments are too slow, too expensive, and too specialized for most residential builders. Meanwhile, Canada’s federal Standard on Embodied Carbon in Construction now requires whole-building Life Cycle Assessments on major federally-funded projects, including residential projects that increase the supply of affordable housing.
Your challenge: build a software platform that lets residential builders generate affordable, compliance-ready embodied carbon assessments directly from the building plans they already produce.
Sponsored by
KEY DATES
Innovator Applications Open
Sept 17
Program Kickoff at Startup Week
Oct 6
Innovator Applications Close
Oct 13
Hackathon Day at UofA
Oct 17
Semi-Final Presentations
Nov 10
Demo Day
Dec 1
FAQs
Who can apply?
Students, developers, designers, researchers, engineers, industry professionals and startups. If you can contribute to building a solution, you’re eligible. Participants must be currently living in Alberta or, if applying as a company, be an Alberta-based company. Alberta-based means you are either incorporated in Alberta or your senior team is present in Alberta.
I’m a student, how do I apply for a stipend to participate?
Stipend recipients must be attending a post-secondary institution in the Edmonton Metro Region.
To apply, fill out the registration form and fill in the appropriate details about your degree program in the application. We have 60 merit-based stipends. Your registration video will be used as your stipend application. Details on the judging criteria for stipends is in the registration form.
Do I need a team before I apply?
No. You apply as an individual, and teams form after applications are approved. Teams run one to five people.
If you already have a team, each individual must complete the registration form. Once all team members have been approved, a separate team registration must be filled out.
Do I need a background in construction?
No. The challenges are cross-sectional by design. Teams that mix technical builders with people who understand the industry tend to do best, and the sponsors are available to answer questions about their world.
What's the time commitment?
Eight weeks with an expected 30 – 40 hours of work total throughout the duration of the program.
Does the program have a virtual option?
Events will be in person. Teams can work asynchronously, but must be able to attend the semi-finals day in November and the finals in December.
Is there a cost to participate?
No.
Who owns what my team builds?
The team does. Edmonton Unlimited and the Challenge sponsors take no ownership in the solutions or any associated IP.
What happens if my team wins?
Top teams receive prizes at Demo Day and have the potential to receive funding through Edmonton Unlimited’s Venture Pilots program to implement their solution with customers. Edmonton Unlimited also works with top teams on incorporation where the opportunity warrants it.
I am a corporation. How do I submit a challenge for a future cohort?
Reach out to Zack Storms directly: [email protected]
BUILT WORLD CHALLENGE SPONSORS & PARTNERS
Industry Leaders
Challenge Partners
Compute Partner
Program Sponsor
Organizing Partners
Community Partners
READY TO JOIN US?
Questions? Reach out to Zack ([email protected]) or Veronica ([email protected]).
