smart.city Hackathon 2025

Become a part of Aachen's smart future and win up to €3,000!

About the smart.city Hackathon 2025

Real smart city projects in the areas of sustainability, mobility, education, arts & culture, and more.
Experts from business, science and administration will support you with their know-how.
Winning projects can receive up to €3,000 and implementation support.

Challenges

Here are some examples of challenges you could tackle during a Hackathon

Sustainable Neighbourhood Development

New Education

Revitalizing City Centers

Art and Culture

Strengthening Local Food Networks

Freestyle hack

Have your own ideas to make Aachen smarter?

Have an idea or a problem you'd like to solve? Present it to us!

Schedule for the smart.city Hackathon

Friday, May 16, 2025 Arrival and Check-In
13:00 - 14:00
Start of the Hackathon
14:00 - 15:00
- Welcome of the participants - Keynote ‘Sustainable and smart Aachen of the future’ - Overview of the program
Workshop Sessions
15:00 - 19:00
Session 1 (approx. 90 minutes): - Low Code / No Code (MathWorks, Inc.) - Generative AI (RWTH Innovation GmbH) Coffee break Session 2 (approx. 90 minutes): - From Ideation to Implementation (digitalHub Aachen e. V.)
Group Dinner
19:00-19:45
Brainstorming and Project Work
19:45 - 00:00
- Formation of interdisciplinary teams (3 - 5 people) - Initial brainstorming and project work

Speakers and Partners

Maximilian Gille

Onur Büyükgök

Anton Spitkovsky

Dr. Kathi Kugler

Saturday, May 17, 2025 Project work
Starting at 09:00
Group Lunch
12:00 - 13:00
MatLab Power Hours
12:30 - 16:30
- Access to MatLab servers with high-performance graphics cards - Ideal for projects needing significant computing power
Pitch Workshop
13:00 - 14:00
- General introduction to pitch structure and delivery - For all participants
Free Pitch Coaching
14:00 - 18:00
- Targeted pitch training in teams - Bookable on-site in 30-minute slots

Sunday, May 18, 2025 Final pitches
10:00 - 12:00
- Project presentations before the jury - Three-minute pitches followed by a three-minute Q&A
Lunch Break and Jury Consultation
12:00 - 13:00
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Award Ceremony
13:00 - 13:30
1st prize: 3000€ 2nd prize: €2000 3rd prize: 1000€ Special prize “MatLab” – €1,000 (sponsored by MathWorks Inc.) Special prize “Local Food Production” – €1,000 (sponsored by the Episcopal Academy of the Diocese of Aachen)

Curious about the content?

From brainstorming to prototyping, the working phases give you the space you need to develop innovative solutions together with your team. Mentors will support you throughout and you’ll receive valuable feedback before presenting your idea to an expert jury.