Under the motto "Connecting Europe by Shaping Regional Identities", the E³UDRES² Hackathon 2025 was hosted not only at one, but three locations across Europe at the same time. Students, regional businesses as well as Educational Entrepreneurs, the coaches guiding the student teams, collaborated intensely from 02-04 December 2025 to work on solving regional challenges in a restricted timeframe.
AI in the Workplace Took Center Stage in Austria
At the USTP - University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten, participants focused on the future impact of artificial intelligence in professional environments. Two renowned challengers - Cloudflight and the Vienna State Opera - presented the participants with real-life problems that pushed the student teams to rethink how humans and AI agents collaborate. The international and interdisciplinary teams explored how AI agents could enhance the customer journey at the Vienna State Opera, from ticketing to personalized cultural experiences. For Cloudflight, the students worked out how future organizational structures might support optimal human–AI cooperation, focusing on practical workflows and team dynamics.
In addition to their intensive hacking sessions — during which many students chose to unwind in a designated chill-out area rather than sleep, contributing to a true Hackathon spirit — participants also enjoyed a diverse selection of complimentary food and beverages, meals from a regional food truck, and insightful expert lectures on topics such as UX/UI design for AI applications.
Reimagining Urban Exploration in Finland
At Jamk University of Applied Sciences in Jyväskylä, Finland, the challenge for the student teams came from Sami Toivanen of Cityspotting, a company known for gamified city exploration tools. Teams were invited to come up with innovative ideas for using a map-based city exploration app. Teams had a unique chance to test the Cityspotting app outdoors, getting to know a slice of the city. This provided a chance to really step in the customer’s shoes and seeing how the interface works in real life.
The participants enjoyed lots of fun exercises to get to know each other more and keep the energy high. Teams worked actively and came up with new solutions for a variety of target groups. Challenge owner gave all the groups valuable feedback on the pitches and the solutions. The challenger was impressed of how much the teams were able to accomplish in such a short time.
Culinary Identity Meets European Connection in Germany
Meanwhile, at the University of Applied Sciences in Fulda, Germany, students focussed on the topic of "Connecting Europe by shaping regional identities in our cuisine". By empowering regions to shape and express their unique identities, Europe can build stronger bridges between communities - and regional identity starts with what's on your plate, among other things. "Food is more than just nourishment, it tells stories of migration, tradition, innovation and community. In Fulda, in the heart of Germany, culinary culture is deeply rooted in regional ingredients and traditional recipes, but is also constantly evolving through intercultural exchange," stated University President Prof. Dr Karim Khakzar and Prof. Dr Jörg Kreiker, Vice-President for Learning and Teaching and Digitisation.
The challenge of the Hackathon in Fulda was set by the international think tank 'RHÖNER LebensMITTE(L)', which initiates identity-creating processes in the rural Rhön region - an association of members of the departments of Food Technology and Ecotrophology at Fulda University of Applied Sciences, the Green Food Cluster, companies such as Antonius Netzwerk Mensch, Hotel Sonnentau, Rote Wand Lech/Jamie Unshelm and ten individuals. As the final concepts were presented, ream 'Hunger Game' convinced the jury with 'MeetMyMeal', a concept that brings people together through shared dining experiences. The second place was awarded to Team 'Hacks & Snacks' for their project 'Food Vision', a Europe-wide cooking initiative designed in a competitive format Inspired by the Eurovision Song Contest: Each participating country submits a dish, and during the final, a new dish is created that merges regional ingredients with elements from various European cuisines.
Throughout the three-day event hosted in three locations, participants collaborated locally and digitally, merging regional perspectives with international backgrounds. The E³UDRES² Hackathon demonstrated how collective problem-solving, interdisciplinary creativity, and strong regional partnerships can drive meaningful innovation in Europe.
