Coopathon 1.0 and 2.0

About Coopathon 1.0

The multi-stakeholder group of organizers including Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society in association with International Co-operative Alliance Asia and Pacific, International Labour Organization, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode, and others organized the International Conference on ‘Co-operatives in the Changing World of Work’ from April 29 – May 1, 2018, at the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode (India). It was co-funded by the ICA-EU Partnership on Co-operatives in Development: People Centered Businesses in Action and supported by the ICA Domus Trust.

The conference also featured a 48-hour long co-operative hackathon, first-of-its-kind in India, called Coopathon 1.0 to allow vibrant minds to work on solutions (based on the co-op model) to tackle some of the 21st century challenges facing the co-operative platform ecosystem. Over 20 teams were competing for cash prizes upto 60,000 and a chance to be mentored by some of the best incubators in the region. Multi-stakeholder teams (academicians, researchers, policy-experts, co-operators, incubators, technology enthusiasts etc.) deliberated on the shortlisted problem statements.

The winning ideas were a smart shoe designed to track employees for attendance management, artificial intelligence for environment detection to empower people with visual disabilities and a co-operative Uber model application for improved access to basic services.

Coopathon 1.0 was as an opportunity for key stakeholders to discuss and deliberate, on a multi-stakeholder platform, the need to develop-promote-advocate concepts towards:

  1. activating social financing for social & solidarity economy space;
  2. sharing knowledge and data for replication of good practices;
  3. scaling up partnerships and working relationships in the context of the Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development.

Coopathon 1.0 in the Media

Hacking for harmony | The co-operative hackathon story

Coopathon Coverage by Chanel I am

Smart Shoe that Tracks Staff Presence at Workplace Wins First Prize at Coopathon

A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins With a Single Step!

IIM to host ‘Coopathon’ from Apr 29

IIM Kozhikode Rolls Back Decision to Issue Certificates in Hindi Language

Find out how the ‘World of Work’ is changing at India’s first ever ‘Coopathon’ to be held at IIM-K

A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins With a Single Step!

Find out how the ‘World of Work’ is changing at India’s first ever ‘Coopathon’ to be held at IIM-K

International Conference on ‘Co-operatives in the Changing World of Work’ begins at IIMK

IIM Kozhikode To Host ‘Coopathon’ From April 29

IIM Kozhikode to host ‘Coopathon’ from April 29

About Coopathon 2.0

The pilot edition of Coopathon in April 2018 saw 100+ young students from across the southern Indian states compete at the country’s premier institute – Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode. Building on this innovative initiative, ICA-AP organized the second edition of Coopathon on January 29 at the NCUI headquarters, to source sustainable, innovative and technologically-enabled solutions to address various challenges in the co-operative sector.

Coopathon 2.0 was thus intended to be a two-way street where young professionals/ students were not only expected to deliver solutions to problems faced by co-operatives and but also to be made aware of the co-operative movement in general, so that its ultimate goal of ‘Promoting Cooperative Entrepreneurship Among Youth’ can be fulfilled. The event saw inspiring ideas and solutions compete for attractive prizes. Participants came from various Indian cities like Delhi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Patiala, Kundli, and Bangalore. They were mentored by some of the best minds from the fields of technology and co-operatives in India and abroad, to fine tune their ideas before their presentations in front of an expert jury.

Team Tech-Coop(s) bagged the first prize by coming up with an online platform intended to act as a bridge between cooperatives and private companies through which private companies can invest in co-operatives under the head of Corporate Social Responsibility. Team Techmites was the first runner up which attempted the problem given by Buldana Urban Coop Credit Society (BUCCS) and came up with a prototype to streamline warehouse transactions intended to maintain a database and save work-hours of different stakeholders. The 2nd Runner up, Team Saksham took a shot at the ICA-AP’s problem statement for developing an online platform where young people who wish to form cooperatives will find mentors, funding agencies and knowledge repositories required to take ahead the cooperative movement. Finally Team Go-Getters got an honorable mention for attempting Vasundhara Agri Horti Producer Co. Ltd’s problem statement.

Glimpses of Coopathon 2.0