What is it all about? Fall 2021 Epic Challenge in Joensuu will be organized as a 3-day hackathon during 4.-8.11.2021 (Thu, Fri & Mon). Each day, the program will start at 14:00 and last until 18:00. The hackathon will take place at Joensuu Science Park.

During the hackathon maximum 20 students, who are selected based on applications, will work in teams with the goal of developing a new creative concept to the challenge of improving rescue operations during forest fires. Teams with the most creative solution concept will be awarded at the end of the hackathon.

A creative concept, or idea, is by definition novel and valuable. In other words, the idea must be new yet feasible and effective in solving the problem.

Who are organizing this hackathon? Karelia University of Applied Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Photonics Finland, PREIN - Finnish flagship for photonics research and innovations, The European Optical Society (EOS) and North Karelia Rescue Services.

This Epic Challenge hackathon is part of the Month of Photonics 2021.

What happens during the hackathon? Each day will focus on a specific stage in a problem solving and innovation process: 1. Day: Knowledge capture and problem immersion 2. Day: Creative concept generation 3. Day: Concept evaluation

Teams have a chance to learn about these stages and the related skills. They then can choose, which skills and advice they want to implement themselves. At the end of each day teams will be evaluated based on their performance and effectiveness as a team.

During the hackathon, the teams can contact the industry and research partners of the event in order to benefit from the knowledge they have.

What are the benefits of participation? All the participating students will get a personal certificate of participation. Best teams and concepts will also be awarded at the end of the hackathon.

After the hackathon, all participants will continue to have access to the skills and method catalogue they were introduced to during the event. Also, after the hackathon, each team will have an opportunity to continue developing their idea further by applying to the Draft Program, if they so choose. How can I apply? You can apply to the program by sending an application email to epicchallenge@karelia.fi. The email should include:

• Your contact information • The school, program/field and year of study • Your motivation to join the hackathon • Short descriptions of maximum 3 creative ideas or projects you have been involved in developing in the past. These projects can be related to your past or current hobbies, schools or paid jobs. • Deadline for applications is Wed 27.10.2021. • All applicants will be notified of acceptance by Fri 29.10.2021 • Application can be written in Finnish or English. • During the hackathon the language used will be English.

Come meet us at SciFest 2019 at Botania, and take part in our Epic Mars Rover Challenge! More info in Finnish here: scifest.fi

We got a treat for you: a chance to hear an actual NASA Astronaut tell the story of his space flight on Friday 24.5. at 17.30 in Carelia-sali! The lecture will be translated to Finnish! Dr. Charles Camarda flew on the shuttle mission STS-114 in 2005, right after the Columbia accident. Dr. Camarda, NASA Senior Advisor for Engineering Development, is the father figure of the Epic Challenge program. Our Epic Challenge Joensuu courses are based on the ICED methodology he designed - the man has quite a bit of experience with innovation and solving problems at NASA! The event is open for public and completely free of charge! No registration required! https://www.facebook.com/events/1366908393449469/

On Friday 24.5. at 14.00 all Epic Challenge Joensuu students have a chance to hang out with NASA Astronaut and Engineer Dr. Charles Camarda at Spark Joensuu (Science Park, building 3A, 4th floor). Students get to share their ideas and discuss space/innovation/engineering related issues with Dr. Camarda. All former and current Epic Challenge students are welcome! And even if you haven't taken the course, feel free to join the discussion! https://www.facebook.com/events/2802120486680029/

On Thursday 23.5. at 12.00 NASA Astronaut, Engineer and creator of the Epic Challenge program, Dr. Charles Camarda, will give a lecture for students, staff and researchers in natural sciences. The lecture will take place at UEF Metria campus, room M100. https://www.facebook.com/events/1106550416193867/

First Epic Challenge International Competition (EPIC) will be held at Mehtimäki Ice Hall during the Taitaja event, 21st of May at 11.00-15.00! Contestants start checking in at 10.45. All info reagarding the competition can be found here https://www.facebook.com/events/303233210578433/

On Monday 20.5. at 14.00 NASA Astronaut, Engineer and creator of the Epic Challenge program, Dr. Charles Camarda, will give a lecture about his experience on best education practises. Epic Challenge Joensuu course is based on the ICED methodology, which was designed by Dr. Camarda - the man has quite a bit of experience in innovation and solving problems at NASA. The lecture will take place at UEF Natura campus, room N100. https://www.facebook.com/events/385689725365561/

We are excited to announce that we have the creator of the Epic Challenge program, astronaut Dr. Charles Camarda, visiting us in Joensuu on week 21! On Monday 20.5. at 10:00 he’ll give a lecture about innovation and teamwork at Spark Joensuu, Science Park (Building 3A, 4th floor). The lecture is open for public, so anyone interested in entrepreneurship and teamwork is welcome! After the lecture you have a chance to meet Dr. Camarda in person and maybe even introduce your own projects, to get some input from the Astronaut and NASA Senior Advisor for Engineering Development! See you at Spark on Monday 20.5. at 10:00! https://www.facebook.com/events/403467920473856/?active_tab=about

On Wednesday 24th of April we'll host a showroom for EC students from Finland and the US - yes, that's right, American students will visit us here in Joensuu! You'll see presentations of what the teams have done, stands, prototypes and our March 2019 students' first competition! This is a great chance to meet students and teachers from the States and discuss space exploration and future habitation of Mars! We'll start at Science Park, building 3A, 2nd floor auditorium at 15.00. The event is free of charge and open for public, and there'll also be some pulla and coffee, as always!

Wednesday at Paja we'll arrange a live videocall Q&A session with the Father of the Epic Challenge program, Astronaut Dr. Charles Camarda. Our students have prepared questions for Dr. Camarda about his experiences on the ISS, about engineering and about other space related topics. At the end of the session we'll have some time for extra audience questions. The event is open for everybody and completely free of charge, so if you'd like to have a chat with an astronaut, this is the event for you! There'll be coffee and pulla, too!

22.11.2018 klo 12.00 - 15.30 Karelia-ammattikorkeakoulu, Wärtsilä-kampus, Karjalankatu 3, 80200 Joensuu Career- and recruitment day at Karelia connects students, companies and communities to discuss about skills needed in the future working life and what it takes to be entrepreneur. Event is free of charge, Recruitment Stands: 13.15 - 15.30 Campus Hallway Find the best doers for your business! Come and meet students from different fields who will present their skills at their degree program stands. The students are interested in finding work placements, internships and commissions for their thesis’. There will also be international students present. Emplyer Info: 13.15 - 15.30 Campus Hallway Create a positive image and book a spot at the employer info stand. Tell students about your business and the job opportunities you offer. The info stand sessions are max 10 minutes. Speaker`s Corner: 13.15 - 15.30 Room 100A Come and chat and network. Meet students, entrepreneurs, business representatives and developers! Pitch your skills, matchmake with employers and match with students! Register latest 19.11.2018 https://www.webropolsurveys.com/S/8615BC771FC7C2EF.par Information for Students! Are you in search of a job or internships placement or need of a bachelor`s thesis commission? Now you have the opportunity to meet employers and tell them about your expertise and get recruited in the process. Sign up for marketing your skills! More information Career and Recruitment Day Harri Mikkonen, 050 502 0402, harri.mikkonen[at]karelia.fi Anne Prepula, 050 311 916, anne.prepula[at]karelia.fi

First ever Epic Challenge Competition! Students have been working for 6 weeks to test and build their prototypes and now is their first test to see how well they have captured the essence of this course. Some of our sponsor companies are joining for the event as well. If you are interested to hear more about insect farming and edible insects, we got you covered. Robert Nemlander from EntoCube will present their work with insects. We will start with company presentations and then continue for the main event! Epic Challenge teams will compete against each others in 3 different challenge.

• Emergency Challenge - Teams will be controlling RC-cars remotely via live video feed, their goal is map certain area and create a shortest path between discovered objects.
• Greenhouse Challenge - In this challenge teams will need to collect as much light as possible from three different light sources and guide the light trough 30 cm regolith. Under the regolith light needs to be distributed as evenly as possible for artificial plant leaves.
• Mars-suit Challenge - Student will suit-up a Mars-suit prototype and go through the obstacle/dexterity course as fast as possible while heart rate is monitored and it can't exceed 80% of the maximum.

Schedule

• 16.15-17.00 Company Presentations EntoCube TBA
• 17.00-17.15 Coffee & Pulla
• 17.15-17.20 Opening words for the First Ever Epic Challenge Competition
• 17.20-18.20 First Round of Competitions - Emergency Challenge
• 18.25-19.00 Second Round of Competitions - Greenhouse Challenge
• 19.05-20.05 Third Round of Competitions - Mars-suit Challenge
• 20.05-> Closing Ceremony and After Party

(FI) Science for the whole family at the Joensuu Campus On 28 September in Joensuu, the European Researchers’ Night will once again bring various forms of science and scientific research to the public. The main event will take place in the Aurora building on the university campus at 15–20. Already before the main event, scientific research is showcased on the morning buses, as our researchers will be interviewed on topics such as the everyday life of today’s kindergartens, edible insects, and how to get fit. Workshops suitable for the whole family will be running in the Aurora building in the evening. You can have a go at chemical and physical experiments and tests, paint your own icon, measure your health, study ants, meditate, and learn from our researchers about 3D modelling in craft science. In addition, our history researchers will organise three campus walks, making it possible for you to learn about the history of the Joensuu Campus. The evening will culminate in an “Ask a Biologist” Q&A session, where our biology experts will answer audience questions about nature and animals. The programme also includes music performances and our Science Café! The European Researchers’ Night in Joensuu will be hosted by Mikko “Peltsi” Peltola. The language of the Science Bus, the Science Sessions and most workshops is Finnish. However, English-speaking staff is available in all of the workshops, so we warmly encourage also those not fluent in Finnish to join in and get their share of scientific research!

Next Epic Challenge course starts on the first week of September. On the first week we will go through the course structure and learn the basics of all the essential skills needed on this course, while solving different kind of problems. Student teams will be formed during the kick-off week based on their own interest and skills. On this course you will learn to use the problem solving method developed by astronaut Dr. Charles Camarda. Welcome to join for the kick-off week, coffee and some small snacks are provided during the evening.

The SciFest is an international yearly festival of science, environment and technology. The festival brings together educators and students from primary school to high school, but everyone interested in these themes is welcome. The goal is to make science fun, accessible and engaging. This year the theme of the festival will be “Science goes Arts”. See you there! Epic Challenge Showroom Our Epic Challenge teams will be sharing their ideas at SciFest 17.5-18.5 at Joensuu Areena. We will be there to tell more about the Epic Challenge, space and science related topics. More info: http://www.scifest.fi/

What is it all about? Fall 2021 Epic Challenge in Joensuu will be organized as a 3-day hackathon during 4.-8.11.2021 (Thu, Fri & Mon). Each day, the program will start at 14:00 and last until 18:00. The hackathon will take place at Joensuu Science Park. During the hackathon maximum 20 students, who are selected based on applications, will work in teams with the goal of developing a new creative concept to the challenge of improving rescue operations during forest fires. Teams with the most creative solution concept will be awarded at the end of the hackathon. A creative concept, or idea, is by definition novel and valuable. In other words, the idea must be new yet feasible and effective in solving the problem. What happens during the hackathon? Each day will focus on a specific stage in a problem solving and innovation process: 1. Day: Knowledge capture and problem immersion 2. Day: Creative concept generation 3. Day: Concept evaluation Teams have a chance to learn about these stages and the related skills. They then can choose, which skills and advice they want to implement themselves. At the end of each day teams will be evaluated based on their performance and effectiveness as a team. During the hackathon, the teams can contact the industry and research partners of the event in order to benefit from the knowledge they have. What are the benefits of participation? All the participating students will get a personal certificate of participation. Best teams and concepts will also be awarded at the end of the hackathon. After the hackathon, all participants will continue to have access to the skills and method catalogue they were introduced to during the event. Also, after the hackathon, each team will have an opportunity to continue developing their idea further by applying to the Draft Program, if they so choose. How can I apply? You can apply to the program by sending an application email to epicchallengejoensuu@karelia.fi. The email should include: • Your contact information • The school, program/field and year of study • Your motivation to join the hackathon • Short descriptions of maximum 3 creative ideas or projects you have been involved in developing in the past. These projects can be related to your past or current hobbies, schools or paid jobs. • Deadline for applications is Wed 27.11.2021. • All applicants will be notified of acceptance by Fri 29.11.2021 • Application can be written in Finnish or English. • During the hackathon the language used will be English.