EUTOPIA Innovation Challenges for Students: Discovery Week, hosted by the CY Cergy Paris University

In Mid-November, 80 highly motivated students coming from our 10 university members gathered in CY Cergy Paris University for the second edition of the "EUTOPIA Innovation Challenges for Students: Discovery Week” event. 

Aiming to promote students' local engagement through collaborative partnerships and challenge-based initiatives with stakeholders from public and private sectors to tackle real-world problems, this 4-day Hackaton programme held in Cergy also offered social activities and networking opportunities.

After a first day dedicated to team building through an icebreaking activity – an escape game at the Koezio Cergy indoor adventure park – and a cocktail reception, the fellows spent the following morning at the International Research House on CY main campus. In this brand-new building inaugurated by Annie Ernaux, 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature, in September 2024, the students were introduced to the 4 challenges related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals they would be working on over the following days:

• Offering a gamification mechanism to actively engage users and to entertain the community of Beegup, an Educational Resource web app to speak foreign languages with pen pals.
• Creating effective marketing campaigns and strategies to boost brand recognition and market penetration for BIBO, a company offering eco-friendly beverages made from locally sourced, organic roots, seeds, and cereals, using artisanal roasting methods.
• Delivering a new international project management certification for CAM® (Change Alliance Méthodologie), a unified programme that creates new value opportunities encompassing industry standards and best practices such as BPMN®, PMI®, SAFE®, PROSCI®, ASAP® AGILE®.
• Adapting a patented eco-responsible potty for elderly and disabled people to help people to stay longer within their homes.

In the afternoon, the large group accompanied by several EUTOPIA staff members enjoyed a guided tour of the Château d’Auvers-sur-Oise. Located in the outskirts of Cergy, this magnificent 17th-century estate with landscaped gardens offered an insightful multimedia exhibition about French art and above all Vincent Van Gogh’s work. The beloved impressionist painter indeed spent his last days in the village of Auvers and is buried in the communal cemetery, alongside his brother Theo.

Back at CY main campus, the mixed groups originating from various university fields, countries and academic backgrounds attended a workshop on Project Design and public speaking. This rich yet enthralling day was only a foretaste of what they would experience later in terms of hecticness.

During the next 36 hours, they brainstormed non-stop, applying cross-disciplinary problem-solving methods with mentors' help to develop innovative solutions for the challenges presented by the 4 French entrepreneurs. The hackathon concluded with the Grand Finale on the world-renowned ESSEC Business School campus stage, where the multicultural teams delivered quick pitches in front of real-life academic and business jury members to expose their ideas, resulting in the celebration of their outstanding projects. 

Before flying back home, most of the teams paid a visit to iconic Parisian landmarks such as the Louvre, the Moulin Rouge or the Eiffel Tower, undoubtedly creating lifelong memories with their new friends.