EUTOPIA launches a new opportunity for the student community: After the success of the first edition of ‘Innovation Challenges for Students: Discovery Week’, held last April in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, the alliance of 10 European universities is looking for eight students from each institution to take part in a second instalment of the hackathon. 
Five days of challenges, teamwork, networking, training and meetings with companies await you in Cergy, from 13 to 17 November, hosted by the Cy Cergy Paris Université. Find all the details on the dedicated pages and submit your application by 22 September. 

To help you discover more about this opportunity, we have collected the testimonials of two of the 80 young people who took part in the first edition of the hackathon: Hristina, an international student who recently graduated in Economics and Business, and Folco, who has just completed a Bachelor's degree in Language, Culture and Society of Asia and Mediterranean Africa.

What made you choose to take part in the Hackathon?

Hristina: I was drawn to the Hackathon by the diverse range of universities participating, which excited me. I thrive in environments where I can interact with people from different backgrounds, and this event offered the perfect opportunity to do so. It was a chance to learn from others and take away valuable insights and inspiration. Additionally, the event was an ideal balance of networking and challenging myself as we faced each task head-on.

Folco: I mainly chose to participate in the hackathon because, as a Chinese language student, my chances of participating in group work activities were limited during my Bachelor’s, and I developed a teamwork project in an international environment. Naturally, the opportunity to meet students from all the partner universities and collaborate with them I was eager to was also something that greatly motivated me to apply. 

What project did you work on?

Hristina: Our team worked on a challenge provided by Linnify. The aim was to prototype an AI-powered tool to automate the lengthy qualitative research process. Our solution adds value to the market and idea validation by speeding up this process. We created a prototype of the digital qualitative research tool that, given the inputs for research from the user, performs qualitative research automatically by analysing scientific papers, similar existing solutions, and social media content. The latter is a unique point that helps understand potential users’ behaviours, expectations, perceptions, and attitudes towards the identified opportunity. This is done with data exploration, AI, NLP, and sentiment analysis. I am happy about our achievement of securing 3rd place, and I am sending special thanks to my team, consisting of brilliant minds ready to tackle any problem we have encountered.

Folco: Along with four other students, I worked on a " Match-mentoring " project. Our pitch offered a platform devised to match mentors, professionals in their fields, mentees, students or workers who might want to start a new career or change their current one to IT. A local IT school with trouble matching its mentors to students presented this challenge to us. Therefore, we thought it could be helpful to think of it as a "dating” platform, where an algorithm could create better matches between mentors and mentees while still giving students the freedom to choose their preferred mentor amongst those offered by the platform. 

What is the thing you enjoyed the most about the experience?

Hristina: While finding solutions to the problems posed by entrepreneurs and CEOs was thrilling, the highlight for me was the people behind the event. From the wonderful host and organiser, Kinga Hening, to our inspiring Italian team leader, Mariagiulia Bertolini, and other Italian representatives, these individuals encouraged and challenged me to grow. In just five days, I experienced more personal growth than I could have ever imagined.

Folco: Firstly, I found it very interesting to meet participants from several partner universities, including the ones from Ca’ Foscari. Something that surprised me was that, despite EUTOPIA being a European university alliance, the level of diversity showcased by each university’s team was extremely varied, as students from almost any continent were present. 
Secondly, the organisers at Babeș-Bolyai University put in a lot of effort to organise the whole event, and the result was great. Not only did we have beautiful locations scattered throughout the city to do our work in, the organisers also arranged some dinners and aperitifs for us, took us around the city’s landmarks and museums, gave us free time to enjoy ourselves, and even organised a farewell party on the last night! The party was very much fun and a great way of saying goodbye to the people I had met throughout the week. 

What impact do these activities have on the professional and personal lives of the participants?

Hristina: Meeting like-minded students from around the world and connecting with them in person and later on LinkedIn provided invaluable exposure to their fields of study, from medicine to AI development. We were also surrounded by CEOs from various companies in Romania and abroad who were genuinely interested in getting to know us, listening to our ideas, and staying in contact even after the event. On a personal level, I’ve formed lasting friendships with many participants who have now become an integral part of my life.

Folco: Starting from the personal aspect, as I already mentioned, getting to meet students from Europe and so many countries around the world is an invaluable experience. Through such initiatives, the students can nurture or further strengthen both their European and global identities, thus learning to live and work in multicultural environments.
Under the professional aspect, the EUTOPIA activities are great for trying out new things or expanding one’s knowledge in specific fields. As I participated in a Hackathon where different companies presented their challenges, I faced the challenge of creating a business plan with my teammates in a matter of days. As it was my first time trying such an activity, I learnt a lot not only from the explanations given to us by the professors on how to create a business plan but also from my teammates, some of whom had already done many in the past. By helping create the business plan, I acquired more knowledge of business and marketing techniques, which are fields that I would not have generally encountered in my primary field of study. 

Why should students take part in EUTOPIA initiatives?

Hristina: If you enjoy intellectual challenges and meeting new people, this event is perfect for you. Even if you feel shy or anxious, rest assured that there was zero judgment during the event—everyone supported each other wholeheartedly. The EUTOPIA alliance provides students with valuable insights into their desired careers, equips them with the skills needed for future success, and offers connections with companies that could play a crucial role in their careers.

Folco: After applying to the Hackathon, I started looking more into the activities organised by the EUTOPIA alliance because I have always been interested in participating in international activities. Before going to Romania, I was also accepted to deliver a presentation at the International Conference for Undergraduate Research (ICUR), organised by Warwick University and Monash University. ICUR is held every year, and it functions as a platform for undergraduate students to showcase their research to an international audience, which is an opportunity not easy to come by during one’s bachelor’s degree. I think that every student interested in gaining international experience should check out the EUTOPIA website and see what they offer because the range of choices is highly varied: you can be part of the EUTOPIA Think Thank, participate in in-person or online conferences around Europe, have your research published on the academic journal managed by the alliance and so on; what’s more, in every activity that you participate in you will always have the pleasure to meet and collaborate with people who will become your friends or, who knows, maybe even future colleagues. 

Interview by Francesca Favaro, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
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