Article 1 – PRESENTATION – GOALS AND EXPECTATIONS - ORGANIZATION OF THE HACKATHON

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1.1. Presentation 

 

The DefInSpace hackathon is a marathon of ideas designed by the Space Command (hereinafter referred to as CdE) and organized in Europe by the Aerospace Valley cluster (hereinafter referred to as AV). The Teamwork Agency will be in charge of the graphic identity of DefInSpace2022 as well as organization of the Grand Finals in Paris.

 

For the hackathon, Participants will work in teams with the goal of presenting projects that answer two challenges proposed by the CdE and presented on the DefInSpace website.

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1.2. Goals and expectations 

 

DefInSpace is in line with the strategy of the CdE which consists in: 

 

• Strengthening the link between the Army and the Nation;

 

• Promoting knowledge of space defence in France and at the European level

 

• Fostering awareness with the French and European general public of its mission and its action in favour of the Defense Space Strategy 

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The CdE has two types of expectations:

 

• To foster the development of original ideas bringing a new perspective to two challenges which have an immediate or potential interest for the CdE teams

• To find ideas for solutions and even out-of-the box solutions which can provide CdE teams with unconventional answers or insights.

 

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​1.3. Organization 

 

The CdE has a decision-making role for the global communication plan, event planning, competition rules, and coordination for writing of the challenges.

 

AV is the organizer of the hackathon in Europe. As such, it is in charge of the Hackathon’s operational aspects in cooperation with the CdE.

 

The Teamworks Agency will be in charge of the organization of the finals in cooperation with AV and the CdE.

 

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Article 2: DEFINITIONS

 

Bootcamp: workshop to inform and prepare Participants for the Competition.

 

Competition:  DefInSpace hackathon. 

 

Challenges: challenges formulated by the CdE which competition Participants must answer. Each of these is described in a sheet available on the DefinSpace Website, which can be viewed at the following link: www.DefInSpace.fr 

 

Experts: people appointed by the Organizers to provide support to Participants (on site or remotely) during the Competition.

  

Central Organizer: entity organizing the hackathon in Europe, in charge of operational aspects of the Competition, in cooperation with the CdE. Within the scope of these rules, it is AV.

 

Local Organizer: entity organizing the hackathon in a city. It is a structure that has been officially declared with the Central Organizer under the control of the CdE.

 

Partner: It includes the following organizations: AID, DGA, ONERA and CNES.

 

Participant: any person of age which registers on the DefInSpace website to participate in the Competition

 

Parties: refers to the Organizers and Participants.

 

Regulations: this document.

 

Sponsor: structure of any size financially participating in the organization of DefInSpace. Specific contracts are established between AV and each sponsor.

 

 

Article 3 : PRESENTATION OF CHALLENGES

 

The CdE is in charge of writing the two challenges. The 2022 challenges are in the process of being written and will be presented in these regulations.

For example, below are the DefInSpace 2021 challenges:

 

Challenge n°1: A human science subject,  Ex. How can the European Union appropriate security and defence challenges in space?

Challenge n°2: a technical subject.  Ex. « Cloud in Space » military. What interests in terms of sovereignty and defence for France?

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​ A description of each of the challenges is available on the DefInSpace website for all Participants. It can be viewed at: www.DefInSpace.fr

Each team should choose a Challenge on which to work during the hackathon.

 

 

Article 4 : PROVISIONAL SCHEDULE 

 

The provisional schedule is described below:  

 

4.1. Before the local competitions: 

 

- Presentation of DefInSpace: general presentation of the Organizers and of the hackathon by videoconference. This webinar presents the scope of the Competition as well as the two challenges proposed by the CdE.

The webinar is open to a wide audience of potential actors of the hackathon and enables each actor (declared or not) to exchange with the main organization and to ask questions about the Competition.

A recording of the webinar will be available for replay.

 

- Opening of registration for Participants from 6 to 8 weeks before the hackathon, directly on the DefInSpace website at the following address: www.DefInSpace.fr.

 

- Bootcamp: the central Organization plans to organize three Bootcamps remotely which will take place a few days before the hackathon.

 

These dates are likely to evolve. More specific information shall be provided to the local Organizers.   

 

The Bootcamps, which take place a few days before the hackathon, are workshops with a dual objective:

 

• To initiate Participants in immersion in the space field

• To remind Participants about the rules governing the hackathon process.

 

The three Bootcamps will allow Participants to meet members of the CdE and sponsors to ask them questions.

 

The preliminary constitution of teams as well as a first choice of Challenge (non-definitive) are possible during the workshops.

 

4.2. Local competitions:

 

- Hackathon DefInSpace : from Friday, June 3rd, 13h30 to Saturday, June 4th, 18h (these hours are likely to be modified depending on the number of Participants and local constraints, in particular with regard to the health situation).

 

Friday, June 3rd

 

13h30 : Welcome session

14h15 to 15h : Verification of logistics (team, comprehension, etc.) and start of work in groups

16h30 : Workshop on what is expected by the jury

17h30 : Working groups

 

Saturday June 4th   

 

10h to 12h30: Pitch training session

13h30 à 14h : Briefing by juries 

14h : Afternoon plenary 

15h : Start of restitutions in front of the juries 

17h30 to 18h : Debriefing by jury 

18h : Announcement of winners of each local event and closing statements

 

A more detailed schedule will be provided to local Organizations before the Competition.

Each local organizer is free to organize the hackathon in face-to-face, hybrid or virtual mode.

 

4.3. The grand finals:

 

- Finals week 25 (Week from June 20th to 24th, 2022).

 

The Finals will be organized in Paris by the Organizers and will include a team from each local event.

 

The finals program will be provided later on the DefInSpace website.

The Organizers cannot guarantee that it will take place in face-to-face mode owing to the uncertain evolution of health constraints related to COVID-19. 

 

Invitations shall be made by Organizers. 

 

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 Article 5: PARTICIPANTS

 

5.1. Participation conditions

 

Participation in the hackathon is open to:

 

• Students of legal age (from civil or military engineering schools, business schools and universities…)

• Young employees of companies with no more than three years seniority.

The hackathon is open to teams of two to five people maximum.

Central and local Organizers reserve the right to refuse to validate the participation of any person if the limit of places has been reached or for any other reason relating to failure to comply with the rules. This refusal does not have to be substantiated.

 

5.2. Registration

 

All participants shall individually register on the official website of DefInSpace.

The central organization shall send each participant an email to validate his or her registration. 

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The Central and local Organizers reserve the right to refuse access to the Competitions to people who are not registered or whose registration has not been properly validated by email or by the main organization.

 

Registration implies the irrevocable acceptance of the following points:

 

• The rules described in this document;

• Ratification of authorizations relating to image rights which if applicable shall be requested by the Organizers to enable them to use and disseminate free of charge and on a non-exclusive basis, pictures of Participants and use these pictures, in full or in part, for teaching, research, and cultural, scientific or commercial use in compliance with article 16 below.

 

Organizers reserve the right to invalidate the registration of any person who does not comply with the abovementioned provisions.

 

Registration and participation in the hackathon are free. The local Organizer shall not ask an admission free from Participants to take part in the Competitions.

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Article 6 : HEALTH CONDITIONS 

 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Competition may be organized virtually.

 

Each local Organizer retains full authority to organize the Competition in the form that it deems appropriate given the prevailing health conditions at the time of the Competitions and current governmental restrictions. Organizers in this case shall not be held responsible for any consequences arising from these decisions.

 

As the decision regarding organizational procedures belongs to the local Organization, the main Organization requests the latter to inform it 15 working days before the start of the Competition.

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Appropriate digital resources (bootcamps, sponsor video, replay of webinars) are planned and provided by the local Organization at no additional charge.

 

In addition, the conditions for the organization of the grand final in Paris shall depend on the health situation in France and in Europe and the rules in force at the time. The Organizers reserve the right to modify the procedures.

 

 

Article 7 : CONSTITUTION OF THE TEAMS AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE CHALLENGES

 

The constitution of the teams is free and shall not be imposed by the Organizers. Local Organizers can however encourage the formation of the teams before the competition. These teams must then sign up on the DefInSpace website.

 

The rules to form a team are the following:

 

• From 2 to 5 people maximum per team ;

• The Organizers encourage the formation of joint teams with diverse profiles and specialties: technical engineering schools, business schools, universities, other schools, young employees, etc.

• Each team can only work on a single Challenge.

 

All Participants are strongly advised, in particular Participants who are on their own, to take part in the Bootcamps to find a team and better understand the context of the Competition. The formation of teams during the Bootcamps is highly recommended by the Organizers.

 

Teams shall be validated at the start of the hackathon in accordance with the schedule planned in article 4 of these regulations.

 

If they wish, local Organizers can organize information sessions in addition to the two Bootcamps to provide additional details to Participants regarding the Competition and the local organization.

 

Teams will freely choose their Challenge from among the challenges proposed.  

 

A presentation of the Challenges in the form of descriptive sheets will be available on the hackathon website at least 15 days before the hackathon begins.

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During their registration on the website, Participants shall be invited to indicate the Challenges which interest them as well as the name of Participants with whom they wish to form their team. Teams can change their choice of Challenge up until the beginning of the Competition.

 

It is expected that several competing teams will develop the same Challenge.

 

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Article 8 : CONFIDENTIALITY – INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF DEVELOPMENTS

 

8.1. Confidentiality

 

The local organizer advises Participants to take whatever steps they deem appropriate to protect any information or technical material in their possession  likely to be subject to property rights before participating in the event.

 

8.2. Intellectual Property

 

Participants shall undertake to inform local Organizers about any intellectual property rights that they own, and which are enforceable against the use of the work performed in the framework of this hackathon to answer one of the Challenges.

For the sole purpose of promoting the hackathon, Participants hereby grant to the Organizers a free, non-transferable, non-exclusive right to use, reproduce and publish the deliverables of which they will be the authors and extracts from software developments that take place during the hackathon. Use, in the form to be decided on by Participants and Organizers, could take for example the form of a screen shot, a limited access to deliverables provided or any other form defined by mutual agreement to enable good communication with regard to the results of the developments made during DefInSpace.

 

Commercial exploitation of these rights by the Organizers is excluded. 

 

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Article 9 : DELIVERABLES  

 

9.1. Characteristics of the expected deliverables

 

During local Competitions, each team will produce deliverables that meet the following characteristics:

 

• A PPT and PDF presentation including 10 slides maximum in English (the structure will be common and will be provided by the central Organization):

• An oral presentation in English (maximum eight minutes). 

These conditions may evolve. In the event that there are any changes, all registered participants as well as the local Organizers shall be informed by the Central Organization.

 

During the grand finals, each finalist team shall produce deliverables that meet the following characteristics:

 

• A 5 minute oral presentation in English based on a PPT presentation which will have been presented during the local Competitions, without any form of modification allowed.

 

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9.2. Promotion

 

Projects of local finalists and international winners shall be promoted through:

 

• Corporate communication via the websites of the Organizers

• A press release 

 

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 Article 10 : ASSISTANCE PREPARING DELIVERABLES 

 

Several teams of Experts in different fields (space operations, design practices, methodology, etc.) shall be present along with Sponsors and Partners to help the candidate teams. During the Competition, each team will be informed about the Experts available remotely. The Experts, thanks to the digital means deployed by the Organizers, could evolve at the same time all over Europe at the request of teams.

 

These Experts may come from the civil sector (engineers, CdE experts ) and the military sector (operational staff of the CdE). 

 

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Article 11: CONSTITUTION OF JURIES - DESIGNATION OF LOCAL FINALISTS AND INTERNATIONAL WINNERS

 

11.1. At the local level

 

a/ Constitution of the jury

 

The local Organizer shall be responsible for constituting the local jury. At the request of Sponsors, the jury may be composed of employees of Sponsors. It should be noted that if a finalist project is assisted by a sponsor, his vote cannot be counted in the jury during the grand finals.

 

b/ Appointment of local finalists

 

At the end of the Competition, each team will present his project to the local jury in accordance with article 9.

 

The criteria for evaluating each project are the following:

 

• Consideration of the context and stakes of the Defence space strategy. Failure to respect this criterion is eliminatory for the general challenge.

• Use of space technologies. Failure to respect this criterion is eliminatory for the technical challenge;

• The innovative and original character of the project (product, service, incremental, radical and architectural, technological and organizational, social innovation) ;

• The expected benefits of the project (pertinence of the project relative to the major challenges facing society, etc.) in particular in terms of creating services and jobs;

• Compliance with rules concerning the deliverables in accordance with article 9 hereof. 

These criteria shall be evaluated in a confidential, discretionary manner by the jury composed of qualified people appointed by the local Organizer.

 

Following the presentations, the jury shall convene and will designate the finalists of the local hackathon (one finalist per Challenge).

 

The Participants irrevocably acknowledge:

 

• That they have been informed that the regulations do not provide for any appeal concerning the constitution or decision of the jury

• That the deliberations of the jury are confidential and shall not be disclosed to Participants

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11.2. At the level of the Grand Finals

 

a/ Constitution of the jury

 

The CdE shall designate a unique international jury composed of members of the CdE and employees of Sponsors and partners.

 

b/ Designation of international winners

  

Each team shall present its project to the international jury in accordance with article 9 of these regulations during the national grand finals.

 

The criteria for evaluating each project are:

• Consideration of the context and stakes of the Defence space strategy. Failure to respect this criterion is eliminatory for the generic challenge.

• Use of space technologies. Failure to respect this criterion is eliminatory for the technical challenge

• The innovative and original character of the project (product, service, incremental, radical and architectural, technological and organizational, social innovation) ;

• The expected benefits of the project (pertinence of the project relative to the major challenges facing society, etc.) in particular in terms of creating services and jobs;

• Compliance with rules concerning the deliverables in accordance with article 9 hereof. 

These criteria shall be evaluated in a confidential, discretionary manner by the jury.

 

 

Following the presentations, the international jury shall deliberate to select the winners of DefInSpace 2022 (one winner per Challenge).

 

Participants irrevocably acknowledge:

 

• That they have been informed that the rules do not provide for any appeal concerning the constitution or decision of the jury.

• That the deliberations of the jury are confidential and shall not be disclosed to Participants.

 

 

Article 12 : LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL PRIZES

 

12.1. Awards for prizes 

 

The  local Organizer shall choose the local prizes to award to the local winners but the prizes must not be monetary in nature.

 

The CdE shall be responsible for choosing the prizes to award the international winners.

 

12.2. Attribution of prizes 

 

The local Organizers shall be responsible for the awarding of prizes during the local Competitions.

 

Prizes shall be awarded to the DefInSpace 2022 international winners during a ceremony which is part of the organization of the DefInSpace grand finals in Paris.

 

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Article 13 : TRANSPORTATION COSTS FOR THE GRAND FINALS

 

 Transportation costs to enable local finalists to go to Paris to compete in the grand finals shall be covered by the CdE on a flat rate basis which is to be defined and which shall depend on the starting location of each finalist. Participants shall be solely responsible for any expenses that exceed this flat amount. This financial provision is null and void if the health conditions related to COVID-19 are such that Organizers have no choice but to cancel the face-to-face grand finals. 

 

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Article 14 : A CHANGE IN COMPETITION DATES

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The  central or local Organizer shall not be held responsible if, in the event of force majeure or events independent of its will, it is required to cancel, reduce, prolong or postpone this hackathon or modify its conditions.

 

In particular, the central or local Organizer reserves the right to cancel, reduce, prolong, or postpone this hackathon or to modify its conditions in the event of application of health measures and/or legal measures owing to COVID-19 making it impossible or difficult to hold the hackathon, either for health reasons or owing to the lack of availability of key people in charge of organizing the hackathon. As such, the central or local organizer shall not be held responsible for the non-execution or delaying of the hackathon event.

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Article 15 : COMMITMENTS OF PARTICIPANTS - SANCTION

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15.1. Commitments of Participants

 

Participants agree:

 

• To comply with these Regulations, a condition required for their registration.

• To answer any request for information from the local Organizer, the central Organizer, or selection juries concerning participation in this hackathon.

• To make no appeals concerning the organization of the hackathon, results and the decisions of the juries.

 

15.2. Sanction

 

Organizers reserve the right to disqualify any person who does not  respect the equipment and premises of the Competition sites provided by the local Organizers, third parties, etc.

 

 

Article 16 : OBLIGATIONS OF PARTICIPANTS AND ORGANIZERS

 

16.1. Obligations of Participants 

 

Participants are duly informed and recognize that the local Organizer does not guarantee the confidentiality of information contained in the project files submitted.

 

16.2. Obligations of Organizers 

 

The Organizers agree: 

 

• To treat any information and document confidentially, in any form whatsoever, disclosed in writing or orally in relation to DefInSpace and identified in writing as confidential.

 

• To not use confidential information and documents for any other purposes than to fulfill their obligations under this Agreement. .

 

• To ensure protection of such confidential information and documents with the same level of protection as that used to protect their own confidential information which shall not be less than a level consistent with accepted practice

 

• To not disclose directly or indirectly this confidential information or documents to third parties without the prior consent of the Parties involved.

 

• To treat the personal data in accordance with the General regulations on data protection

 

• To only disclose confidential information/and or documents when this disclosure is required by law.

 

• Obtain from any physical person having the power to represent him or to make decisions in his name, as well as third parties involved in the execution of these Regulations, their agreement to respect the obligation of confidentiality described in this article.

 

• The Organizers can disclose the abovementioned confidential information in the following situations: if a legislative or regulatory measure, or a decision of an administrative authority taken in application of such a measure or if a decision rendered by a jurisdiction requires it. If the confidential information in question is necessary for the performance of the obligations under the present, on the condition that the third party receiving the information is legally subject to an obligation of confidentiality equivalent to these regulations; or if this party is expressly released from his obligation of confidentiality by the other Party.

 

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 Article 17 : DATE OF ENTRY INTO FORCE - INTERPRETATION - MODIFICATION OF THE REGULATIONS

 

17.1. Date at which the Regulations enter into force

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The regulations shall enter into force starting from their online publication date and all Participants will be deemed to have accepted the said regulations once they have registered on the event’s official website by means of a box that must be ticked.

 

17.2. Interpretation of the Regulations

 

The Central organizer of the hackathon in which the candidate is participating shall be sovereign for all questions relating to application of these Regulations.

Its decisions are final and are not subject to appeal.  

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17.3. Modification in the rules

 

The rules of these Regulations are accessible on the website of DefInSpace.  

 

These Regulations can be modified at any time in the form of an amendment by the central Organizer posted on line on the DefInSpace website.

 

In the event of modification of the regulations, Participants shall be informed by email and the new version (post modification) will also be available on the website: definspace.fr

 

Any participant who refuses the modifications made will be deemed ineligible to submit the deliverables of his project.

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Article 18 : DISPUTES, COMPETENT COURT AND APPLICABLE LAW

 

In the event of a dispute resulting from or related to these Regulations, the aggrieved party agrees to undertake before any referral to a court or arbitration tribunal, to find an amicable solution.

If the dispute is not resolved within 45 days by one or the other of the Parties, the Parties agree to submit the dispute (at the choice of the Parties or not of the injured party) to the competent French court in view of the subject of the dispute.

 

The applicable law is French law and the law of proceedings is French, unless otherwise provided for by an imperative clause justified by the injured party.