The six finalists for the GBIF Ebbe Nielsen Challenge have been announced by GBIF:
“The creativity and ambition displayed by the finalists is inspiring’, said Roderic Page, chair of the Challenge jury and the GBIF Science Committee, who introduced the Challenge at GBIF’s 2014 Science Symposium in October.The finalists all receive a €1,000 prize, and now have the possibility to refine their work and compete for the grand prize of €20,000 (€5000 for second place).“My biggest hope for the Challenge was that the biodiversity community would respond with innovative—even unexpected—entries,” Page said. “My expectations have been exceeded, and the Jury is eager to see what the finalists can achieve between now and the final round of judging.”
As the rather cheesy quote above suggests, I think the challenge has been a success in terms of the interest generated, and the quality of the entrants. While the finalists bask in glory, it's worth thinking about the future of the challenge. If it is regarded as a success, should it be run in the same way next year? The first challenge was very open in terms of scope (pretty much anything that used GBIF data), would it be better to target the challenge on a more focussed area? If so, which area needs the nost attention. Food for thought.
