Terms and Conditions

•  fully and unconditionally agree to comply with these Rules. Participants express their agreement by checking an online box while enrolling for the Challenge. 

In case of non-respect of these Rules, the Participant will be immediately disqualified from the Challenge and no prize will be awarded. 

 

3. REGISTRATION AND PARTICIPATION IN THE CHALLENGE 

To take part in the Challenge, we must receive your completed registration by the 30th of  January, 2024, at 11:55pm GMT+00. To register, the Participant must first have created a user account on the Challenge website, and must have truthfully and accurately completed required information, such as full name, email address, etc. 

Any registration based on inaccurate, false or incomplete information will result in the Participant’s disqualification. Refusing collection, recording and use of their personal data that is strictly necessary to performing the Challenge will result in the Participant’s disqualification. The Participant is solely responsible for the information he/she provides when registering. Any intentional or unintentional mistake, anomaly or inconsistency, regarding this information, may result in the Participant’s disqualification. The Sponsor reserves the right to proceed with all necessary verifications regarding the Participant’s identity, postal and/or email address. 

Deletion of a Participant’s user account on the Challenge website will be deemed as a withdrawal from the Challenge. In this case, the Participant, regardless of whether the deletion results from the Participant’s personal action or not, will not participate in the Challenge, and will not obtain any compensation. 

You must also have accepted the Rules as well as the Terms and Conditions of Use and the Privacy Policy, during the creation of your user account and your registration to the Challenge.  

Registration for and participation in the Challenge is free, with no purchase or payment obligation. 

 

4. ELIGIBILITY 

This Challenge is open and offered solely to:  

• Students. Any individual aged eighteen (18) years and/or with full legal capacity, who (i) is currently enrolled at a post-secondary institution or (ii) has recently graduated from a post-secondary institution less than 2 years before the current academic  year, with a student card as verification . Each Student may only participate once in each Challenge. If the participant is a minor, he/she must provide this authorization signed by a parent or guardian.  
• Individual Participant. Individuals aged eighteen (18) years and/or with full legal capacity at the time of registration. Each Individual Participant may only participate once in each Challenge. 
• Startups. A business entity, regardless of its business area. Startups may be required, in Sponsor’s sole discretion, to provide proof of (i) company registration by submitting a registration certificate issued within the last three (3) months, or ongoing company registration, or any trade registry and proof ensuring the registration of the entity in the relevant country, and (ii) a valid professional insurance policy subscription.  

All the documents that may confirm the Participant’s eligibility may be required prior to awarding any prizes (e.g. identity document, registration certificate student card etc.). 

This Challenge is not open to employees and representatives of the Sponsor and Agorize and the members of their families. 

This Challenge is void in countries where it is prohibited or restricted by law. 

This Challenge is void in countries belonging to the EU Sanction Map. 

 

5. PURPOSE OF THE CHALLENGE AND PARTICIPATION 

Participation in the Challenge must be individual (Individual Participant), as a team or as a Startup. 

• Individuals. Individual Participants must enter the Challenge in their individual capacities. 
• Teams. Individual Participants may elect to form a team (“Team”) of 2 to 6 members maximum. Each Team member must accept these Rules, by clicking a hyperlink through the Agorize interface. Sponsor may disqualify any Team (and all its members) if one member has not accepted or violates these Rules. 
• Startups. Startup Participants enter the Contest on behalf of their legal business organizations. During the registration process, Startup Participant must designate one individual who is part of the company for contact purposes with the Sponsor. This person will be responsible for registering the Startup at the Challenge and participate in the Challenge on behalf of the Startup. As a Startup participating in this Challenge, you represent and warrant to the Sponsor that such person (i) is an authorized representative of Startup and is participating in the Challenge on behalf of such company, and (ii) has obtained all necessary approvals to enter the Challenge, including all persons qualified to grant any intellectual property rights to Sponsor. Any individual who is employed by a Startup may also submit its participation as an Individual Participant. 

The goal of the Challenge is for Participants to submit contributions (or projects) meeting the requirements determined by the Sponsor in the Challenge brief, and that are formalized by deliverables. The brief includes information regarding various deadlines, details of the prizes, Sponsor requirements etc. (the “Brief”). The Brief is accessible through the Challenge website. 

 

6. DELIVERABLES 

During the Challenge, Participants may upload any documents or other materials (such as texts, presentations, videos, etc.) relating to their project to the Challenge website in response and as a solution to the Sponsor’s Challenge (the “Deliverable”).  

To be eligible, Deliverables must (i) address the specific issue set out in the Brief, (ii) be in a common digital format, such as, DOC, DOCX, PDF, PPT, PPTX, KEY, ODT, MP3, MPEG, MOV, MP4, and (iii) be in English, and in general terms must comply with these Rules. 

If a Deliverable cannot be downloaded, is not in the right format or is incompatible, illegible, or unintelligible, the Deliverable will be disqualified. 

By submitting a Deliverable, the following needs must be respected: 

• The Deliverable includes exclusive contributions from an Individual Participant, Team or Startup. 
• Otherwise, if content from a third party has been used in the development of the Deliverable, all rights, authorizations and agreements necessary to submit the Deliverable and grant the rights mentioned herein have been obtained. The existence of uncredited third-party contributions in the Deliverable will result in the disqualification of the Deliverable and the related Participants; 
• No other individual and/or entity is entitled to claim any rights from the use of the Deliverable; and 
• The content of the Deliverable does not and will not infringe or violate any rights of any third party or entity, including, without limitation, intellectual property rights, privacy, competition law, confidentiality, or any contractual or extracontractual right. All deliverables suspected of any law(s) and/or any third party’s right will be ineligible. 

Participants are responsible for and shall bear any costs or expenses associated with preparing and submitting Deliverables. Participants assume all risk for damaged, lost, late, incomplete, invalid, incorrect or misdirected Deliverables. 

 

7. CHALLENGE PROCESS 

Challenge Rounds. The Challenge consists of several rounds: 

• Round One. Deliverables will be accepted from the 5th of December 2024, 7:00 GMT+00 to the 30th of January, 2025 at at 11:55pm GMT+00. At the end of this Round, up to 15 winning Deliverables will be pre-selected to proceed to Round Two. 
• Final Round. Participants are not required to upload a Deliverable on the Challenge website for this Final Round. 

Deliverable. If a Participant does not upload a Deliverable on the Challenge website before the deadline, this will be considered as a withdrawal from the Challenge. The Participant may not join the Challenge, and may not obtain any compensation from the Sponsor. 

Selection Criteria. Deliverables will be judged according to the Selection Criteria, described below. You agree and acknowledge that the Challenge relies on your creativity, capacity, ability, and ingenuity to solve difficult problems. The Challenge does not depend, even partially, on chance or luck, and therefore should not be considered as a lottery. Under no circumstances are factors such as appearance, religion, membership in a trade union, political opinions or sexual orientation considered.  

Notification to Participants. Once selection has been completed, Participants will be notified by email, phone, or by other means of the results of each Round. The Sponsor will be free to alter the dates on which results are released should this become necessary due to the number of projects to be assessed.  The ranking decided by the final jury will be announced on the day that presentations are made and will identify the Participants that are finalists. 

 

A. Round One 

All Round One Deliverables must be submitted before the 30th of January, 2025 at 11:55pm GMT+00. Deliverables must meet the specifications set out in Section 6, above, and include:  

• An introduction to the Project produced aiming to have a clear and synthetic of the solution, its sustainable impact, its use of quantum and AI, based on the forms to be filled by the Team to participate. 

• A 4 pages-pages document (or more) of their Project produced using the template available for download from the Challenge website, in DOCX or PDF format. 

Selection phase following Round One will proceed as follows: 

“Criteria based” voting will take place from the 31th of January, 2025 to the 7th of February, 2025. 

The voters (Sponsor members), (the “Voters”), may evaluate and select the Deliverables based on their content and the following criteria: 

 

Step 0: Project Eligibility 

The purpose of this initial stage is to filter projects to ensure they meet the hackathon’s basic requirements before proceeding to a more detailed evaluation by the mentor under the responsibility of the jury and its final validation based on the previous analytical work done by the mentors. 

These criteria will be evaluated as met or not met, without any particular scoring. 

•  Alignment with the UN SDG-based Five Challenges: 
  • Requirement: The project must address one of the Five Challenges (referring themselves on a given selection of the UN SDG), with a clear explanation of how it contributes to that challenge. Although contributions could impact multiple challenges, the application should select one and only one dominant challenge. 
  • Five Challenges (based on the UN SGDs)
    • Health & sustainable food: SDG 2 & SDG 3 
    • Smart Cities: SDG 6 & SDG 11 
    • Sustainable Industries and Transport: SDG 9 & SDG 12 
    • Sustainable Energy: SDG 7 
    • Climate and Biodiversity: SDG 13 & SDG 14 & SDG 15 
  • Example: A project aimed at optimizing a network of sustainable rail transport could indicate it supports Challenge n°3 (Sustainable Industries and Transport).  
    

•  Use of Quantum Computing in an AI application: 
  • Requirement: The project must leverage quantum computing power, either with a specific definition (based on analog or digital neutral atom quantum technology) or a broader one (using literature-backed quantum algorithms). 
  • Example: A project using neutral atoms to optimize an energy grid would qualify, as it directly applies Pasqal’s quantum technology. 

• Clarity and Completeness of the Project: 
  • Requirement: All deliverables must be complete and structured coherently to meet expectations, including the project profile, support presentation, and project proposal. 
  • Example: A quantum-AI based use-case intended to optimize water management with  
    • The project registration form completed in Agorize directly 
    • The Deliverable template #1 and Deliverable template #2 filled and shared inside the Agorize platform 

•  Compliance and ethical use of the AI: 
  • Requirement: The project should use artificial intelligence in a manner that promotes ethical AI and respects fundamental rights. UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. 
  • Example: A quantum ai-based project improving disease detection process should specify it does not involve prohibited biometric or sensitive personal data. 

 

Step 1: Selection of the Top 15 Projects for the Hackathon 

After the eligibility filtering, eligible projects will be evaluated in depth across three main criteria to identify the top 15 projects. These criteria are scored from 1 to 4, prioritizing the most creative, technically viable, and impactful projects. 

• Sustainability Impact of the Quantum Solution: 
  • Objective: To evaluate how effectively the quantum solution contributes to the SDGs, with a focus on measurable impacts in both the short and long term. 
  • Considerations: Projects should articulate the potential for environmental, social, and economic impact, specifying realistic expectations for scalability and measurable results. 
  • Example: A quantum AI based project focused on smart grid optimization that demonstrates potential energy savings and CO₂ emission reductions, with clear impact metrics and scalability pathway, would score highly in this category. 

•  Technical Feasibility of the Quantum Solution: 
  • Objective: To assess the technical practicality of the project, including scalability, and compatibility with the quantum architecture proposed. 
  • Considerations: The project must demonstrate that it is feasible to implement using Pasqal’s neutral atom quantum technology or compatible quantum resources. 
  • Example: A CO₂ emission reduction project that outlines a detailed implementation plan for using quantum algorithms to optimize industrial processes would score well on technical feasibility. 

 

• Innovation and Creativity of the Quantum Solution: 
  • Objective: To assess the originality and disruptive potential of the quantum solution compared to existing approaches. 
  • Considerations: 
    • Known application of an existing algorithm: For example, using a well-established algorithm for a common use case. 
    • New application of an existing algorithm: For example, applying a quantum AI energy modeling algorithm to a different sector, like agriculture. 
    • New adaptation of an existing algorithm or new application to a new algorithm: Creating an innovative approach by modifying an existing algorithm for a novel use case. 
  • Example: A project using quantum AI to model air pollution in urban areas could be evaluated highly if it presents a model only used outside the domain or air pollution, as well as an innovative quantum AI algo as such  

Except as otherwise provided below, the 15 Participants with the highest score at the end of this vote will win this vote and proceed to the next round. 

 Participants will be informed of the results of the Round One by the 10th or 11th of February 2025. 

 

 B. Final Round  

Participants who have been selected to participate in the Final Round will be directly notified by email to the address provided during registration. In the event a Participant does not confirm his/her attendance at the final event, the Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify this Participant. This disqualification shall not entitle the Participant to claim any kind of compensation from the Sponsor. 

 The final round consists of an online hackathon, Participants are not required to upload a Deliverable to the Challenge website before the Final Round. Four weeks, from February 12, 2025 to March 9, 2025. During the hackathon, the 15 winning teams will have the opportunity to further develop their projects, in terms of their sustainable impact and technical feasibility. They will also have to document their work and prepare a project presentation pitch to be delivered at a dedicated event on March 11 (date to be confirmed). 

 However, Participants must prepare a Deliverable which meets the specifications set out in Section 6 and which include: 

• a technical repository 

• a technical project report on the in-depth algorithmic and mathematical approach 

• a sustainable impact study of the solution 
• a presentation support for the final pitch 

At the end of the Final Round, the jury will choose the 3 winning projects and will rank the finalists.   

They will base their choice on the following selection criteria: 

The winning projects will be selected based on four main criteria, each focusing on different aspects of the project’s impact, feasibility, technical quality, and presentation. These criteria ensure that the selected winners are not only innovative and impactful but also technically viable and clearly communicated. 

 

1. Sustainability and AI Impact Analysis

This criterion evaluates the project’s contribution to SDG-based 5 challenges and its long-term scalability and impact. 

•  Contribution to SDGs and impact: 
  • The project should clearly demonstrate how it supports at least one of the five SDG-based 5 challenges such as Health & sustainable food, Smart Cities, Sustainable Industries and Transport, Sustainable Energy Climate and Biodiversity. Projects should document evidence of the quantum AI benefits for the use-case.
  • Example: A project proposing a quantum AI model for optimizing water usage in agriculture could indicate it supports challenge n°2 “Smart Cities” and provide an analysis showing how it contributes to better managing water resource and/or water quality and related sustainability issues. 

•  Impact Scalability and Roadmap:  
  • The project should outline a roadmap for scaling the sustainability benefits of the solution, indicating how it could be applied on a larger scale and specifying the challenges and potential limitations. This includes considerations for the complexity of scaling and the anticipated timeline for deployment.
  • Example: A project for smart city traffic optimization could provide a roadmap detailing how the solution could be implemented in multiple cities and scaled up for larger traffic systems. 

 

2. Technical Feasibility and Quantum Energy Advantage

 

This criterion assesses whether the project is technically sound, feasible on a quantum architecture, and demonstrates an energy efficiency advantage over classical computing. 

• Technical Feasibility:  
  • The project should demonstrate that it is implementable with current quantum computing technology, specifically compatible with Pasqal’s neutral atom quantum machines with capacities of 100+ qubits and potentially scalable to 1000+ qubits. This includes an explanation of how the solution can be practically implemented within these constraints. 
  • Example: A project aiming to reduce emissions in transportation by optimizing routes should explain how the quantum algorithm functions effectively within the qubit capacity of Pasqal’s quantum architecture. 

•  Quantum Energy Advantage:  
  • The project should compare the energy consumption of the quantum solution to that of a classical High-Performance Computing (HPC) solution. This includes an energy consumption/carbon emission analysis of both quantum and classical resources, covering the entire lifecycle, from computational runtime to hardware usage. Preferably using the standard reference given by the sustainable quantum whitepaper (standard energy & carbon emissions for an hour of Pasqal quantum computer vs. benchmark of emission for an hour of an HPC). 
  • Example: A project that uses quantum AI for drug discovery could provide a comparison showing that the quantum approach consumes less energy than an equivalent classical solution, including estimates of energy savings over time. 

•  Code Quality and Innovation: 
  • The code should be technically advanced, showcasing either the use of a novel algorithm or an innovative adaptation of an existing one. This includes demonstrating creativity in the quantum algorithm’s application or a unique approach to solving a complex problem. 
  • Example: A project that adapts an existing machine learning algorithm to work with quantum processing for faster data classification in biodiversity monitoring would be highly rated if it shows a new and effective adaptation of classical AI techniques. 

 

3. Quality of the Documentation and Pitch Presentation

 

This criterion evaluates the structure, clarity, and thoroughness of the technical documentation as well as the team’s ability to effectively communicate their project, ensuring that the project is well-documented, easy to understand and presented in a clear and compelling way. 

• Clarity and Structure of the Technical Repository:  
  • The GitHub repository should be clearly organized, including a detailed installation guide, any required dependencies, and a Jupyter Notebook for a minimal working example. This enables reviewers to test and understand the solution with ease. 
  • Example: A project repository for a quantum AI solution in supply chain optimization might include a README file explaining the setup, a Jupyter Notebook demonstrating key functionalities, and documentation on how to replicate the experiment. 

• Accuracy and Completeness of Documentation:  
  • The documentation should include precise mathematical formulations of the problem, a detailed explanation of the methodology used, and an analysis of results. Additionally, it should outline future improvements and further exploration steps.
  • Example: For a quantum solution aimed at predicting crop yields, the documentation should detail the mathematical model, the specific quantum methods used, and how results were validated, along with suggestions for refining the model.

• Clarity and Coherence of the Presentation:  
  • The presentation should concisely explain the problem the project addresses, the solution provided, and the outcomes achieved. The story should flow logically and cover all essential aspects of the project. 
  • Example: A project for sustainable agriculture should explain why the problem is important, how their quantum solution addresses it, and the expected benefits, in a clear and structured manner. 

 

8. PRIZES 

The prizes are awarded to the winners of the Challenge and are subject to compliance with the following cumulative conditions: 

• The Deliverables comply with Section 6 (“Deliverables”); 

• Each Participant of a winning project complies with Sections 9 and 11; 

• It can be proven that the winning Participants fulfil the conditions of eligibility of Section 4.  

No prize will be awarded to winners who do not fulfill the above conditions. 

Subject to these Terms and Conditions, once confirmed by Sponsor, the winning Teams will receive the following: 

• Grand Prize of 15 000€ 
• Second Place Prize of 10 000€ 
• Third Place Prize of 5 000€ 

No assignment or transfer of prizes is allowed by a winner. If a potential winner cannot be reached, is unable to accept the prize or any portion of the prize for any reason, Sponsor shall have no further obligation to such potential winner. Sponsor will not replace any lost or stolen prizes after being awarded to winners. Winners will accept the prize “as it is”. Sponsor disclaims any warranty regarding the Prizes. 

In the event a Participant (a winner) cannot be reached, by email or by phone, for more than three (3) months after the first attempt to reach them was made, he/she will be deemed as having waived their right to claim the prize and will not be entitled to any prize or any kind of compensation. 

If the prize as initially planned is unavailable, Sponsor will be free to substitute another prize of similar value. Any such decision is at Sponsor’s sole discretion. 

Any Participant who does not fulfil the conditions of Participation as provided in the Rules during their registration and/or at any time during the Challenge will be summarily disqualified from the Challenge without prior notice and will not be entitled to any prize. In the event that a prize is awarded to a Participant who does not meet the conditions of Participation when registering or throughout the duration of the Challenge, Sponsor reserves the right to require the Participant to return the awarded prize. 

 

9. COMMUNICATION 

The Participant acknowledges and consents that Sponsor may, and for the duration of the Challenge and for a period of one (1) year following the Final Round use the Challenge for publicity, including for Sponsor’s advertising or other marketing purposes, (by any means and through any format (website, advertising banners, social networks, newsletter, press release) now known or unknown to date, free of charge or for a consideration.  

In particular, you consent to the use, by the Sponsor, of your name and surname, your city and region of residence, the name of the institution in which you studied or in which you obtained your diplomas and other biographical information, your image, the information regarding the Prize (if you are a winner), the name of your company and its distinctive signs (if you are a Startup) and any other personal data that you submit with your Deliverables as well as the content of your Deliverables relating to the Challenge.  

As an example, each Participant authorizes the Sponsor to use the photographs taken during the Final to disseminate them via any communication medium. 

Such use does not entitle the winner to any other payment than the Prize he/she received. The Sponsor agrees to cease use  of the aforementioned elements in connection with the Participant at the end of the aforementioned period. 

 

10. CONFIDENTIALITY 

The Sponsor has no obligation to keep the information contained in the Deliverables confidential. In general terms, when submitting any Deliverables, the Participants understand, agree and accept that any information contained therein may be publicly disclosed by the Sponsor.  

If you are a prize winner, the Sponsor may request that you execute a confidentiality/non-disclosure agreement for the purpose of entering into negotiations regarding the further development of your project, as described in your Deliverable.  Such confidentiality/non-disclosure agreement will be directed to your Deliverable and all intellectual property that it may contain. 

Furthermore, Participants acknowledge that the Sponsor may currently or in the future be developing information internally, or receiving information from other parties, that is similar to the information contained in any of the projects. Accordingly, nothing herein shall prohibit the Sponsor from independently acquiring, developing, or having developed for it, products, concepts, systems, services, or techniques that are similar to or compete with the products, concepts, systems or techniques contemplated by or embodied in any Deliverable.  

The Participants recognize that other Participants, individuals or entities may have provided to the Sponsor or others, or made public, or may in the future submit, or make public, content that is the same or similar to any piece of information contained in any of the projects. Hence, the Participants acknowledge, agree and accept that the Sponsor shall have the right to use such same or similar materials, and that the Participants will not be entitled to any compensation arising from the Sponsor’s use of such materials.  

 

11. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 

 Definitions. For the purposes of this section,  

• "Intellectual Property Rights" refer to any copyright or other rights over a brand, a design or a model, a patent and, more generally, any element, (including trade secrets and knowhow), that may be protected by national and/or international laws or conventions on intellectual property (“Intellectual Property Rights”)  
• “Previous Rights” refer to any Intellectual Property Rights and/or any associated know-how held by the Participants before the start date of the Challenge (“Previous Rights”)  
• “Creations” refer to any software (including source and object code software), database, technical specifications, text, design, model, information, knowledge, method, process or product, as well as any resulting elements and/or processes likely or otherwise to be protected according to national and/or international laws or conventions on intellectual property developed by any Participant as a part of any submitted deliverable throughout the Challenge (“Creations”). 

 

Warranty of non-infringement. When submitting any Deliverable, at any stage of the Challenge, each Participant guarantees to Sponsor that he/she is the owner and/or holder of the Intellectual Property Rights regarding all or part of the Creations  contained in the Deliverables submitted at any stage of the Challenge, and that he/she has obtained all rights and permissions regarding all pre-existing Creations and any elements of the Deliverables for which he/she does not hold the relevant rights. 

Each Participant guarantees (i) that his/her contribution is original and unprecedented; (ii) that it does not infringe upon the copyright or any Intellectual Property Rights of any third party; (iii) that all the elements of which his/her submissions are formed, as well as all pieces of contributions and information communicated in the submission presentation documents are accurate, reliable and complete; and (iv) that the submission of the relevant Deliverables does not constitute an act of unfair competition of any kind. 

It is compulsory for Participants to indicate the source of any pre-existing Creations of whichever nature and on whichever support that are included in any submitted deliverable. Any Deliverable involving several Participants constitutes a collaborative work and it should be treated as such in accordance with the applicable regulation in force. 

Liability. Sponsor cannot be held liable for any infringement of the above provisions by Participants. Each Participant shall indemnify the Sponsor against any disturbance, action, claim, opposition and demand or eviction attempt from any third party in connection with any Creation in the Deliverables (Intellectual Property Rights included).  

By submitting a Deliverable and participating in this Challenge, you are not granting the Sponsor any rights to any intellectual property supporting all of part of the Deliverable and the Sponsor makes no claim to ownership of your Deliverable or any intellectual property that it may contain.  

 

12. MODIFICATION OF RULES, SUSPENSION AND CANCELLATION OF THE CHALLENGE  

Update of the Rules. The Sponsor reserves the right to amend these Rules at any time, including the Challenge duration in case of operational imperatives, without prior notice to Participants regarding the enforcement or the validity of these amendments.  Participants are encouraged to consult these Rules regularly. Participants expressly waive all claims or disputes related to any amendment to these Rules by the Sponsor. In case of significant amendments to the Rules, the Participants will be explicitly notified by the Sponsor. 

Should any paragraph of these Rules be declared or judged illegal, unenforceable or void by a court decision, the paragraph in question will be considered null and void, but all other unaffected paragraphs will be enforced within the limits of the law. 

Challenge Cancellation or Suspension. The Sponsor reserves the right in its discretion, to (i) cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Challenge and these Rules, for any reason, at any time and without any liability, and (ii) to limit or restrict participation in the Challenge. The Sponsor will not be held liable for the modification, cancellation or suspension of the Challenge and no compensation or remuneration will be due to the Participants. 

 

13. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY 

The Sponsor will in no way be held liable in the event of breakdown or failure, regardless of the cause, of any telecommunications network used that causes Participants difficulty in or prevents Participants from identifying themselves on or gaining access to the Challenge website. 

Participants agree that the Sponsor, its affiliates and all of their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, representatives and agents (“Released Parties”) will have no liability whatsoever for, and will be released and held harmless by Participants for any claims, liabilities, or causes of action of any kind or nature for any injury, loss or damages of any kind including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential or punitive damages to persons, including without limitation disability or death.  Without limiting the foregoing, everything on the Challenge website and in connection with the Challenge is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.  Some jurisdiction may not allow the limitations or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages or exclusion of implied warranties, in which case such limitation or exclusion shall apply only to the extent permitted by the law in the relevant jurisdiction.   

Participation in the Challenge implies acknowledgement and acceptance of the characteristics, limits and risks of the internet and related technologies, particularly with regards to performance, response time, security of software and computer equipment against various potential attacks, such as viruses, logic bombs or Trojans, and loss or misuse of data. As a result, the Sponsor will not be held liable in any way for any damage incurred by Participants arising from these characteristics, limits and risks, which Participants accept by registering and taking part in the Challenge. 

The Sponsor will not in any case be held liable for damages resulting from faults with or delays in the submission of deliverables by Participants, including refusal to accept these deliverables as a consequence of their submission outside the deadlines set out in the Rules, from faults with or delays to the sending of any emails by the Participant sent as part of the Challenge, or from any alterations made to the deliverables independently of the Sponsor. 

The Sponsor will not in any case be held liable for damages resulting from services provided by a third-party relating to the prizes. 

The Sponsor will not be held liable for the consequences of a Participant’s disqualification from the Challenge as a result of their violation of these Rules. 

 

14. PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION 

Participation in the Challenge requires the communication of the Participant's personal data ("Personal Data"). 

Participant’s personal data is subject to processing within the meaning of the regulations on the protection of personal data (The EU 2016/679 General Data Protection Regulation and the Council of 27 April 2016, known as GDPR) for which the Sponsor defines the purposes and means and is, as such, “Data controller” within the meaning of the GDPR. 

 The purposes of the processing are:  

• To meet the organization of the challenge needs  
• To organize the intermediation between the Participant and the Sponsor, to ensure identification, communication and preservation of the exchanges with the Participant 

In accordance with the provisions of the GDPR, the Sponsor undertakes to implement organizational and technical security measures in order to protect all Participant’s Personal Data. The Sponsor undertakes these measures? to allow the exercise of Participants’  rights from GDPR. 

 

15. CLAIMS 

Any Participant’s claims arising from the Challenge, should be addressed no later than thirty (30) days following the Challenge end date to legal@pasqal.com. All claims must include: (i) the Participant’s complete contact details (name, address, email address and phone); (ii) the name of the Challenge; and (iii) a clear and detailed explanation for the claim. 

 

16. APPLICABLE LAW AND DISPUTES RESOLUTION 

The Challenge and any action related thereto shall be governed by the law applicable in France. 

In case of persistent litigation beyond a period of fifteen (15) days after the Participant has filed a claim, the Sponsor and the Participant undertake to submit their dispute to an amicable conciliation prior to any legal proceedings. The party wishing to initiate conciliation shall inform the other party by means of a registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt in which it will inform of its intentions and will explain the cause. If no agreement is reached between the parties within thirty (30) days after receipt of the registered letter, the parties regain their freedom of action. 

In case of persistent disagreement on the application or interpretation of the Rules, and in the absence of an amicable settlement, any dispute that may arise between the parties, will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Paris (France) courts to which the parties expressly grant jurisdiction, even in the case of multiple defendants, in summary proceedings, appeal by guarantee or by motion.