Qlik Announces Annual Academic Program Datathon Winner in Addressing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals
Universiteit Leiden in The Netherlands Student Selected For Creating Application Showcasing Impact on Ecosystems
Qlik and the United Nations (UN) have been partners for several years and most recently developed a dashboard to visualize the global indicators of progress to achieve the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals – a call to action for all countries to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. As part of our annual Qlik Academic Program Datathon tradition, we invited students from across the globe to use Qlik software to develop data and analytic solutions to address the challenges outlined by those goals, including poverty, inequality, climate change, as well as injustice and a lack of economic growth.
Today, I have the honor of announcing the Qlik Academic Program Datathon winner, Jesse van Haasteren (team Codecrackers), from Universiteit Leiden in The Netherlands! He was selected as the winner by QlikWorld Online 2021 attendees from three finalists who showcased their applications at QlikWorld Online, based on how well and efficiently data was visualized in a compact, easy-to-understand manner.
The application, titled “The Influence of Environmental Changes on Life on Land and Under Water,” provided insights into the causes of environmental change, the importance of biodiversity in supporting a healthy ecosystem, and the need for a greater overall understanding of the interconnectedness of human actions as they relate to sustainability. Van Haasteren leveraged the VizLib library of extensions to enhance his application.
The application made clear that there continues to be a lack of substantive reduction in plastic debris, marine acidity and oil spillage incidents. In addition, land species in green forest and mountain areas continue to be threatened, and there has been an appreciable decrease in sustainable fish stocks. Van Haasteren noted that small, everyday decisions about household item purchases and use are part of the solution, as well as better waste management systems, and the criticality of a sustainability mindset to drive ecological protection and preservation efforts.
Qlik Benevity Campaign Supporting Pandemic Relief
In addition to showing how data and analytics solutions can help solve world challenges, Qlik.org launched a fundraising campaign through Benevity at QlikWorld to support organizations that have provided relief to those facing difficulties from the pandemic, natural and humanitarian disasters, severe poverty, climate change and social injustice. The campaign will run through May, with Qlik.org matching donations up to $25,000 through May 2021 to raise a total goal of $50,000.
Congratulations, again, to Jesse van Haasteren (team Codecrackers). His and the participation of other students highlights the increased recognition that supporting global environmental initiatives is central to our work as citizens of this world and the world to be.
