Winners were announced online on 12 October
A satellite-based flood warning tool for farmers won the European Union’s first regional climate hackathon after more than 280 university and TAFE students built 47 prototypes in 60 hours ahead of COP31.
The winning project, Draki, came from team Pixelers at the University of Queensland. The tool uses free satellite data from the EU’s Copernicus programme and texts farmers which paddocks will flood and what to move before the water arrives.
Climate Hack-tion ran online from 2 to 4 October 2026. Students from Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific and the EU took part.
Teams worked on COP31 priority areas covering electrification, waste and methane reduction, resilient cities and buildings, green industrialisation, and climate awareness and education.
According to the organisers, the projects reflected regional challenges including flooding, extreme heat, waste and food security. The hackathon coincided with the Pre-COP in Fiji from 5 to 8 October 2026.
H.E. Lawrence Meredith, EU Ambassador to Australia, H.E. Lucie Samcová-Hall Allen, EU Ambassador-designate to New Zealand, and H.E. Barbara Plinkert, EU Ambassador to the Pacific, announced the winners at an online ceremony on 12 October 2026.
Other student projects also took prizes
The runner-up was WasteWise by Team Fusion, made up of students from Monash University, the University of Adelaide and UNSW. Organisers described it as an interactive game that teaches children to manage waste.
Participants chose SweatShell for the People’s Choice award. The Not So Hot team from RMIT and the University of Auckland developed it as a biodegradable roof sheet that cools buildings without electricity.
Special mentions went to ReSourceX in Australia and FieldLoss in the Pacific. ReSourceX, created by team Goal Digger from UNSW and UTS, is a marketplace for recycled materials, while FieldLoss is a tool for measuring food loss.
Draki was named after the Fijian word for weather.
Meredith said: “COP31 is a defining moment for our region, and these students have made sure young people are taking climate solutions into heir hands. In 60 hours they took the climate priorities from the negotiating table to practical solutions for people – farmers, schools and communities could use tomorrow.”
The EU Delegation to Australia delivered Climate Hack-tion with the EU Delegations to New Zealand and the Pacific. The EU also works directly with Australia, New Zealand and Pacific countries on shared climate priorities.
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