Open Data Contest Forum for Rapid Innovation

The province and Dalhousie University are inviting youth and entrepreneurs to participate in the second annual open data contest.

Participants will use data from Nova Scotia’s open data portal to create unique products or solutions, like a mobile app, predictive model or visualization, in one weekend. Participants will pitch their solutions to a panel of judges and the best innovations will earn prizes.

"We invite curious minds to come together and explore new uses for public data that will benefit everyone," said Internal Services Minister Patricia Arab. "The open data movement will help inspire an innovative and creative future for Nova Scotia."

The contest takes place Saturday, March 3, which is International Open Data Day, and Sunday, March 4 at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

"Open data gives everyone the power to search, discover and link data in new ways - to better support our communities, and create innovative new products and services," said Sandra Toze, director of Dalhousie University's School of Information Management.

"We use Nova Scotia's open data portal to teach students how to search, manipulate and visualize data to solve problems and enhance decision-making. We are happy to partner with the province on this competition and demonstrate the importance and value of open data."

Nova Scotia's portal contains more than 670 data collections and views including high-resolution 3D maps and some information previously only available for a fee. It has been continuously updated since it was launched in 2016.

For registration information visit, data.novascotia.ca .