Tech4Positive Futures Challenge 2024: Team UK

Tech4Positive Futures is Capgemini’s challenge to colleagues across the business to drive positive change through innovation. It seeks out the best technology solution that can create positive futures by addressing some of the most pressing planetary and societal challenges.

Earlier this year the UK shortlisted four projects to be judged by a panel of leaders across the local business. At the end of September, the judging panel agreed on the one UK entrant to be put forward to compete against all other entries from across the business globally. The final winners of the Tech4Positive Futures Challenge at a global level will be announced later this year. The winning teams will then get the opportunity and support from our organisation to build the idea into reality.

Ahead of the global announcement from Capgemini Group, I want to share the most impactful and innovative solutions we shortlisted and highlight the colleagues and partnerships behind them. The shortlisted entries were:

Smart Camera Traps

• The Team: Isobel Ashbey, Gareth Stoyle, Katie Spimpolo and Stuart Watson
• The Challenge: Conservationists manually collect image data, however it can remain unanalysed until months or years after collection, limiting the opportunity to act on its insights.
• The Solution: A smart, modular camera trap system that could be used in any conservation context around the world. Equipped with edge-AI to provide instant, actionable insights, and modularity, enabling limitless applications for numerous use cases.
• The Partner: Cambridge Conservation Research Institute (CCRI)

Sea Sea TV

• The Team: Sarath Latham, Charlotte Long, Michelle Baldelli, Howard Roscoe, Csilla Elekes and Alan Law
• The Challenge: The Ocean Conservation Trust needs to accelerate the mapping of seagrass meadows across the UK to inform their restoration efforts.
• The Solution: An app to enable those using the waters around the UK, including divers, sailors, kayakers, etc., to upload images and video footage of seagrass for analysing. This would help increase coverage and ensure effort was focused on the coastal areas in greatest need.
• The Partner: Ocean Conservation Trust

Pollination Game

• The Team: Emily de Courtenay Wellum, Tim Angelini and Sarah O’Donnell
• The Challenge: How to empower a generation of young people with knowledge and actions to protect bees and enhance biodiversity.
• The Solution: Like bees collecting nectar and spreading pollen, children would play the game to input biodiversity data to a global open-source database. This data would enhance the global understanding of biodiversity, support policy makers and local and global conservation initiatives.
• The Partner: University of Stirling

Calypso 2.0

• The Team: Nathan Harris, Ella Mann, Alex Diaz and Mustapha Mustapha
• The Challenge: How can we build a better picture through data collection of human noise pollution within our oceans, which injures and kills marine organisms and disrupts behaviour.
• The Solution: An affordable acoustic monitoring system which could be deployed across our oceans to help us track the noise pollution. And in so doing, help industry, policy makers and the science community to make informed interventions to reduce the devastating impact of this lesser-known pollutant.
• The Partner: University of Exeter

We’re pleased to announce that team Calypso 2.0 have been recognised as the UK’s entry for the Tech4Positive Futures Challenge 2024 for their affordable acoustic monitoring system.

Congratulations to Nathan, Ella, Alex and Mustapha and their project partner, Dr. Matthew Witt of the University of Exeter. I know everyone wishes you all the very best as you progress to the global competition.

And well done and thank you to all the teams and partners who took part in identifying the issues and collaborating and innovating for positive impact.

Learn more about our social value and digital inclusion programmes in the UK.