From May 9–11, the international hackathon “SUSTAINABLE CROSSBORDER SOLUTIONS” took place on the Zittau Campus of the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences. Twenty young and young-at-heart people (primarily from our tri-border region) tinkered, programmed, and developed concepts, prototypes, and mock-ups—in short: practical solutions to challenges faced by businesses, universities, associations, and local governments! These approaches are, in virtually all cases, transferable to various locations throughout our tri-border region.

Among the participants were mathematics students from the University of Wrocław, Czech high school students specializing in cybersecurity, and young women and men from the Czech Republic, Poland, and Germany studying fields such as design, automation, ecology, environmental protection, and economic analysis. The diversity of disciplines and backgrounds, along with a colorful mix of soft skills and interests, led to solutions that were, in some cases, outstanding and, in every case, exciting and relevant to real-world applications.

Eight case studies were presented by the Zittau Urban Development Corporation, the L&T project partners Arnio and GEDES e.V., PerspektiveArbeit Lausitz, the German-Polish company Pundmann, as well as public-benefit associations from the region and the university project “Jugend bewegt Region” on Friday, the first day of the 48-hour hackathon—6 of these were selected by 8 teams. Inspired by “prototyping” and “design thinking” workshops held that morning, the young hackers were highly motivated to tackle topics such as agri-PV solutions for electric tractors, photovoltaic use in Zittau’s old town, blue-green infrastructure incorporating flood protection measures and raising awareness of biodiversity along the Mandau River, energy-efficient RAG chatbot solutions for universities and businesses in the tri-border region, a 100% solar-powered cargo bike, and a website platform solution for youth participation and exchange opportunities in the context of structural change.

Special recognition was given at the awards ceremony on Sunday afternoon at Celsiuz to the presentation of a programming solution for an educational app tracking a river’s course in our tri-border region, complete with a flood warning system. Additional honors were awarded, among other things, for a historic-preservation-compliant photovoltaic roof integration for buildings in Zittau’s old town and a smart agricultural tool designed to enable the sizing and forecasting of PV usage for electric mobility in agriculture.

Here are the results:
FlowApp
Agrion
FrameUp
Chatbot
Here I am
Solar Cargo Bike

The 20 hackathon participants were supported by mentors (providing both technical and methodological guidance), language interpreters, and the skilled young coaches from the Makerspace geistesblitz (Löbau lebt). Representatives from the University of Wrocław, Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, Digital Upper Lusatia, and regional companies were invited to serve on the jury. In addition, the hackathon was attended by a representative from the ARR regional agency in Liberec . We would like to take this opportunity to once again express our sincere thanks to ALL supporters, participants, and others who contributed for their dedication and for making these three highly productive days possible—days in which mutual respect, fair play, diversity, and joy played a significant role. In addition, our project partner KARR facilitated good connections with Polish students and supported the event’s success by providing multifaceted assistance in overcoming administrative hurdles.

The report, including the development concept, can be downloaded here.