On February 12, Cultivate Tomorrow, the first nationwide hackathon devoted exclusively to addressing key challenges in cellular agriculture, will take place online via event platform Hopin.
Created to help bridge the gap between industry and academia, Cultivate Tomorrow will bring together food tech leaders and students from around the US to discuss, brainstorm and innovate solutions for advancing cellular agriculture.
The event will also provide ample interactive and networking opportunities for online attendees, say the organizers.
Historic hackathon
For the past two months, 130 students in 25 teams worked with industry mentors, which included Perfect Day and The Every Company, on one of three problem tracks:
- Advertising strategy for cell ag products
- Scientific communication to address cell ag misconceptions
- Innovative resource use
To conclude the hackathon, Cultivate Tomorrow will stage a Demo Day on Feb. 12, where online attendees can explore a virtual expo showcase and visit teams’ booths to learn more about their projects and solutions. CULT Food Science President Lejjy Garfour will then present awards to each problem track’s winning team.
Panel sessions will feature moderator Danielle Nierenberg of Food Tank along with top names in cultivated food: Isha Datar (New Harvest), Eric Schulz (UPSIDE Foods), Angela Braren (Perfect Day), Nicky Quinn (Aleph Farms), and Christina Agapakis (Ginkgo Bioworks).
A student-led effort
Cultivate Tomorrow is a grassroots organization that seeks to lower barriers to the cellular agriculture industry by helping more students academically prepare for the field. The initiative’s creators hail from multiple schools including MIT, Northwestern, Yale, UW Madison, UC Berkeley, UC Davis and Ohio State University.
Founder and director Jasmin Kern, who studies chemistry at MIT, commented on the first-of-its-kind event.
“From conceptualizing the first nation-wide cultivated food hackathon to directing the first iteration of Cultivate Tomorrow, I have gotten to know so many impressive and inspiring people working towards revolutionizing the food industry,” says Kern. “I am thrilled to see how much new talent has been waiting for a chance to step into this industry, and that we can offer them this opportunity.”
Cultivate Tomorrow will take place Feb. 12 from 1 PM – 5 PM EST. Participants can register at this link.
