Minister of Ecology Azat Ziganshin wished victories to the participants of the Clean Ocean eco-hackathon
The final of the international hackathon "Ecohack: Clean Ocean" started in Kazan today. The event's platform, which brought together young scientists and developers from three countries, has become a place of attraction for those who are looking for innovative answers to the global environmental challenge of microplastic pollution of the oceans.
The opening ceremony was attended by the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Tatarstan, Azat Ziganshin. The head of the department welcomed the participants and guests of the hackathon, emphasizing the high importance of their work.
"Today, I am particularly proud to welcome the 28 teams that have reached the finals of the competition, united to solve one of the most acute environmental problems of our time – pollution of the oceans with microplastics. By being here, each of you proves that caring for the planet knows no boundaries," said Azat Ziganshin.
The eco-hackathon brought together more than 100 participants from Russia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Of the 48 teams, 28 reached the finals. Among the participating cities are Kazan, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ufa, Samara, Tomsk, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Almetyevsk, Tobolsk, Dolgoprudny, Sevastopol, Ashgabat and Namangan. Over the course of two days, the finalists will have to work on 11 challenging cases, from creating monitoring systems based on artificial intelligence to developing bioremediation methods.
The hackathon is a preparation for Fyodor Konyukhov's ecological expedition on the Mirrico raft to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in November 2026. It is planned to study the size and boundaries of the spot, take water samples for analysis and collect data on the temperature of the surface layers of the ocean. The materials will be transferred to the biotechnological cluster of Tatarstan for the development of technologies for cleaning reservoirs. The ecohackathon is organized by the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Mirrico Group of companies with the support of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Tatarstan.
The eco–Hackathon is a great opportunity for young people to show their abilities and initiative, which corresponds to the goals of the national Youth and Children project.