Tuesday, 23 July 2024

Register now for the Arqus Hackathon Series 2024

Arqus Hackathon Reihe 2024

Are you ready to tackle pressing challenges and foster a culture of innovation and collaboration? Join the Arqus Hackathon Series, where creativity meets purpose. Organized by the Arqus Living Lab on Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation at the University of Graz, this series welcomes all Arqus university members, including academic staff, administrative staff and students.

The Hackathon Series is designed to tackle pressing challenges facing Arqus institutions, fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration. Engaging with these challenges is vital for the Alliance network’s growth and impact. The activity is in cooperation with the Field of Excellence COLIBRI.

We will run two hackathons:

  • Hackathon 1: October 2024 (exact date TBC).
  • Hackathon 2: November 2024 (exact date TBC).

Each Hackathon will provide a set of challenges. The challenges will be defined in collaboration with the representatives of the different participating universities. Participants will get a chance to view the challenges, propose refinements or propose their challenges. Participants will choose their favorite challenge to be working with. The following challenges are proposed for the hackathons and feedback is welcomed for adaptations and additional suggestions:

  • Challenge 1: Basic AI Literacy for Faculty
  • Challenge 2: Developing Basic Online Collaboration Skills
  • Challenge 3: Adapting to Digital Transformation and E-learning
  • Challenge 4: Eco-Friendly Campus Practices
  • Challenge 5: Improving Student Mental Health and Well-being
  • Challenge 6: Ensuring Accessibility and Inclusivity
  • Challenge 7: Digital Tools for Administrative Efficiency
  • Challenge 8: Addressing Sustainable Development and Environmental Impact
  • Challenge 9: Sustainability in Curriculum
  • Challenge 10: Enhancing Societal Engagement and Relevance

Each hackathon spans over four weeks, structured as follows:

Week 1: Kick-off Event

  • A one-hour synchronous online event (video recorded for later viewing)
  • Introduction to the event, challenge selection and team formation

Weeks 2-3: Hackathon

  • Teams work in a virtual environment on their chosen challenge
  • Preparation of presentations showcasing their innovative ideas

Week 4: Closing & Awards

  • A one-hour synchronous online event (video recorded for later viewing)
  • Final solution presentations, evaluation and decision by a jury

The hackathon will be supported through Moodle as a platform to house all information and resources for participants and a virtual world that will be used for the actual time spent on working on the hackathon challenge.

How to Register

Fill out this survey by 15 September 2024, to register for the Arqus Hackathon 2024. We will contact you shortly after this date to confirm your registration and provide further details.

Hackathon information sheet

Registration link

Related news

Legal scholar Clarissa Groß on European values at the EU’s external borders

The tense situation in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta has been making headlines for weeks. The exodus of thousands of Moroccans has once again placed migration and border policy at the very top of the EU’s agenda. Clarissa Groß, a research assistant at the Institute for European Law, is examining the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), the design and practical implementation of the new border procedures, and their compatibility with the right to personal liberty as part of her doctoral thesis. She recently visited the Greek island of Lesbos, which remains a migration hotspot, to assess the situation on the ground.

Graz is a magnet for 750 physicists: international conference on campus

Whether in mobile phones, medical devices or solar power systems: physical phenomena are part of our everyday lives. The vast scope of this discipline will be explored at a major conference taking place at the University of Graz from 20 to 25 September 2026. More than 750 scientists will transform the campus into a European hub for physics.

A fresh start, a calling, holidays: what draws people from other career paths to teaching

They used to develop software; now they teach maths in the classroom. Career changers are expected to help address the shortage of qualified teachers in Austria’s schools. In their doctoral theses at the Institute for Educational Research and Teacher Training at the University of Graz, Melanie Gürentz and Claudia Mair examined how these new teachers perceive their new professional roles.

Talent Talks bridge the gap in career guidance

The Styrian Chamber of Commerce (WKO Steiermark), the Styrian Chamber of Labour (AK Steiermark) and the AMS are joining forces when it comes to training young people and, through the “Talent Talks”, are creating a seamless pathway to career guidance. This takes preparation and follow-up support – just in time for the start of the term and the scheme’s tenth anniversary – to a whole new level. A new survey conducted by the Talent Centre among 2,687 former participants to mark the anniversary shows just how important this development is. Of the young people who received follow-up support from the Talent Report, 74.6 per cent stated that they had a good understanding of their own strengths and talents following the Talent Check. Without follow-up support, the figure was 66.5 per cent – a significant difference of 8.1 percentage points.