The DAISSy Research Group of Hellenic Open University successfully organized a Hackathon event between 19 and 20 May 2022 in the framework of the Erasmus+ /KA2 research project «HE-ENTREDIGCOMP – Development of Entrecomp and Digcomp Framework in Higher Education». The Hackathon event, held live at the premises “Gaiopolis” of the University of Thessaly in Larissa, had the «We work together and we suggest solutions to problems relevant to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations». During its course, Higher Education students developed innovative ideas for products and services based on technology and in line the goals for sustainable development set by the United Nations in 2015. The whole event was offered free of charge to all participants.

The Hackathon event was an amazing experience of learning, collaboration and creativity. On the first day, students had the opportunity to get to know each other, form groups, learn more about the topic of the event and study the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the  United Nations (UN SDGs). On the second day, they were trained in entrepreneurial thinking, they became familiar with and used tools of strategic planning, they discussed, they suggested solutions and they created “prototypes”, i.e. models of technological solutions to problems faced by the modern world. In total, 5 different prototypes were submitted.

At the end of the second day, a special committee formed by Higher Education teachers evaluated the prototypes, issued awards and distributed certificates of attendance. The evaluation itself was supported by all participants, who expressed their own opinions via Mentimeter, an online voting application. The evaluation criteria, apart from overall relevance to at least one of the 17 UN SDGs and the use of technology, included the degree of creativity-innovation, feasibility and sustainability shown by each different idea.

The first solution, Dr. ROB, was submitted by Anna-Maria Vlachogianni, Anthi Mavrika, Eirini-Chrysovalantou Bourgoudi, Marvina Petsani and Pavlina-Christina Fragkogoula. The solution refers to SDG N. 3 – Good Health and Well-Being and focuses on the creation of a robot (with an alert button or/and in combination with a drone) so that basic medical services can be offered to residents of remote areas.

The second solution, P-SPY, was submitted by Elissavet Brakai, Aristea Bitzakou, Edlira Chotza and Eleftherios Chalkidis, and refers to SDG N. 11 – Sustainable cities and communities. The solution focuses on using an application for mapping urban centres and locating parking spots depending on vehicle size, passenger category (children, seniors, patients etc) and driver profile (private citizens, professionals etc). This way, unnecessary transport can be avoided, thus helping reduce atmospheric pollution, fuel consumption, and people’s fatigue and irritation.

The third solution, Security Light, was submitted by Christodoulos Kikas, Eleni Motsenigou, Georgia Kozaki, Elli Petsouki and Charalampos Bantis, referring to SDG N. 11 – Sustainable cities and communities. The solution presents an idea for keeping citizens safe while saving energy. Specifically, via a dedicated application, citizens have the option to activate public lighting (LEDs, solar-energy based lights etc with smart, digital features) in areas like parks and remote streets at night.

The other two solutions submitted were:

ECO2ffee, by Konstantinos Gkatziouras, Kalliopi Gkontia, Eleni Zoumbounelli, Eirini Orchanissi, Thomas Tsaras, referring to SDG N. 13 – Climate Action; the solution suggests collecting raw material remaining from producing coffee drinks and utilizing it in creating cosmetics and biofuel.

RoboSea, by Konstantinos Gennitseftsis, Alexandra Karachatzi, Dimitris Margaritis, Irena Balla, Theofilos Petsos, referring to SDG N. 14 – Life Below Water; the solution suggests creating a submarine robot to collect rubbish on the bottom of seas and lakes, contributing to overall water quality.

The DAISSy Group congratulates all teams for their enthusiasm and active involvement in the event! The best ideas developed during Hackathon Events organized by all partners of the project He-Entredigcomp will be included in a special Guide for Entrepreneurial Projects in Higher Education, while representatives of the winning teams will be offered the chance to travel to Ankara in Turkey in order to attend the Multiplier Event of the Project and to present their prototype.