Another successful edition of the Hack4Split social hackathon is behind us! The goal of this event is to find and implement socially beneficial green solutions that would improve our local community with the use of the most modern technologies.

During the past weekend, Hack4Split 2023 was held on the premises of the SPINIT incubator, organized by the Split Entrepreneurship Center and the Student Business Incubator of the Faculty of Economics, as part of the University Green Digital HUB project.

As many as 8 teams with 33 participants worked in a cheerful and proactive atmosphere to solve various social problems, thereby contributing to the progress of our community.

The sixth consecutive edition of the hackathon gathered in one place a significant number of talented people with excellent ideas that resulted in projects applicable in various social and economic spheres, with a common denominator – the use of modern technologies.

The following teams took part in the hackathon this year:

• Conscious Cloth – a clothing brand that, through an attractive redesign, enables the reuse of old clothes
• Dalmatian Roots – interactive map of eco-producers of olive oil, wine, and other Dalmatian products in the region
• Quick Recycle – an application for recycling small amounts of PET waste with rewarding users
• Green Guardian – a platform for reducing single-use plastic in restaurants
• BeBee – IoT solution that enables control of conditions inside beehives
• CRO PET – a platform for fostering abandoned animals
• Sortify – an application for identifying recyclable waste that includes rewarding users
• Smart Library (Pametna knjižnica) – autonomous libraries made from 3D-printed recycled material

The Smart Library team won the Best Design award for the prototype they created in just two days. The Best Green Solution award was awarded to the Sortify team, while the overall winners and the Best Team award holders were the BeBee team who did the best work during the hackathon.

In addition to the work and competition part of the hackathon, there were also workshops on idea validation led by Arjan Goudsbloom and Tomas Pinjušić and a presentation skills workshop led by Pinija Poljaković.

During the hackathon, the participants had 10 mentors – all from different areas of business and technical development of products or services – available for advice.

Special thanks to the sponsors who provided prizes for the best teams and supported the organization of the hackathon – OTP banka d.d., Dobar tek, AceYachting, Kiwi.com, Mirakul educational center, Breaktime Nautical, Museum of Illusions, Plan B, Kebabsito, Slastice kod Mate, Green Future Conference, and Split Parking.

Hack4Split, as a green-oriented hackathon, this year took place at three locations – at partner universities in Spain, Germany, and Croatia – all through the University Green Digital HUB project.

The project’s main goal is to strengthen the digital, green, and entrepreneurial skills of students, university startups, and university employees, and to strengthen the capacity of higher education institutions in the field of teaching for the digital and green transition.

The University Green Digital HUB project lasts 24 months and is co-financed with funds from the Erasmus+ program.

Text and photos: Student Business Incubator