The activity is highly relevant and novel within a social context because it directly addresses urgent and growing societal challenges—such as the increasing frequency and severity of floods in many EU countries—by equipping participants with the advanced skills needed to assess, model, and actual mitigation strategies of these risks. Its innovative approach integrates challenge & enquiry -based learning, serious gaming, and collaborative modelling, moving beyond traditional lectures to offer dynamic, hands-on engagement, learning by doing with real-world disaster scenarios. By merging gamification with disaster response education, the hackathon not only meets current societal needs for enhanced risk management and community resilience but also aligns with modern learning preferences. It fosters the development of practical solutions, risk-informed policies, and teamwork, ultimately strengthening disaster preparedness and resilience at both the individual and community levels. The involvement of experts and the integration of diverse academic and technical disciplines further reinforce the event’s social impact and up-to-date relevance.

– Day 1: Arrival & Orientation– Welcome and Introduction, Keynote Speech, Lunch Break Hackathon Challenge Introduction, Distribution of schedules and challenge materials, informal networking, Brief mentor orientation meeting (hybrid format)

– Day 2: Finding the idea– Keynote Speech, Hackathon Work Session 1 (Challenge Deep Dive: Tools), Team project planning, Lunch Break, Hackathon Work Session 2 (Development/Sensor Data Integration), Group mentor check-ins (hybrid format)

– Day 3: Developing the idea – Keynote Speech, Hackathon Work Session 3 (Testing/Refining Solutions & Team Consultations), Lunch Break, Hackathon Work Session 4 (Team presentations rehearsal – hybrid format), Social activities and peer networking

– Day 4: Demo, Judging & Closing – Final presentations and demos (hybrid format), Panel judging (online), Awards ceremony, Closing remarks, group photo, event wrap-up.

Learning Results: After this hackaton, the students can implement new robotic systems in early warning systems. They will be able to correctly choose the necessary components for their idea based on their specifications, test their compatibility and efficiently implement them in the final prototype. Students will be able to solve technological errors. Students will know how to handle the available tools used for assembling the robotic system.

WHEN

May 4 to 7, 2026

WHERE

Onsite at POLITEHNICA Bucharest

APPLICATION DEADLINE

April 5, 2026