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Department of Animal Sciences

CFAES

SmartAg4.0 App Competition

SmartAg4.0 is a competition for Ohio college students who are passionate about food systems. While not a computer programming event, SmartAg4.0 models itself off of signature Ohio State events such as HackOHI/O in its spirit and structure. Over 24 hours, multi-disciplinary student teams work together to design an app and an accompanying business strategy to address major topics such as food safety and security, agricultural productivity, sustainability, and “the last mile.”

SmartAg4.0 relies on faculty, local industry partners, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists to be on hand at the event to offer students critical feedback for their proposals. In the end, a panel of judges selects the best proposal from each domain, and one overall winner for the event.

Last year, a team of three Ohio State students, two Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering majors and one Strategic Communications major, won the coveted prize for “Best Overall Pitch.” Their app, called “Farm2Table,” would connect small restaurants and local farmers to reduce food waste and increase transparency about how the food restaurants are serving is grown. Phong Bui, one of the Farm2Table team members, recalls SmartAg4.0 as an invaluable learning experience.

This year’s SmartAg4.0 competition will take place from September 29th through the 30th. Students interested in learning more about the event can visit go.osu.edu/smartag4 or send an inquiry via email to smartag4@osu.edu. To directly register, visit https://go.osu.edu/smartag4register.