One of Gdańsk Tech teams on FarU Hackathon | Gdańsk University of Technology

Fifteen teams composed of employees, doctoral students, and students of Gdańsk University of Technology, University of Gdańsk, and Medical University of Gdańsk took part in the first hackathon organized by FarU. The purpose of the event was to develop innovative solutions within one of five thematic areas: the ecosystem of cooperation within FarU and Pomerania, civilization changes, energy and sustainable development, food safety and quality, and FarU for the sea.

From Friday to Sunday, in the Hydromechanics building on Gdańsk Tech campus, the teams worked intensively on their projects – analyzing to what extent their ideas meet the needs of diverse groups, whether they solve a specific problem and what is their business and social potential. It was the social aspect that encouraged the team from Gdańsk University of Technology to participate in the event: Anna Modrzejewska (IRO), Krzysztof Dąbrowski (IRO), Justyna Sudakowska (IRO), Paulina Strąkowska, PhD (WIMiO) and Jakub Modrzejewski-Szeląg (student of nanotechnology at WFTiMS), who worked on the project to create the Accessibility Center.

- We dream of creating a comprehensive Accessibility Center at Gdańsk University of Technology to support both students and doctoral students with special educational needs, as well as help academic teachers adapt their teaching methodology to groups with diverse needs. More importantly, such Accessibility Center could also offer services addressed to research staff and, for example, help them obtain grants for research activities related to increasing the accessibility of universities for people with special needs, which seems to us to be extremely important at a technical university such as Gdańsk Tech - says Anna Modrzejewska, Head of the International Relations Office.

Where did the idea to create the Accessibility Center come from?

- In February this year, part of our team participated in a study visit to the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. We were very impressed by the activities carried out by the local Disability Office team, where students with special educational needs - not only with disabilities, can obtain support in various forms: scholarships, additional learning aids or adapting exams to their needs and capabilities - says Justyna Sudakowska, IRO (you can read the report from the study visit here).

Teams who participated in the hackathon could use the support from invited experts – representatives of universities and businesses. The team of Gdańsk University of Technology that worked on the concept of the Accessibility Center received great support from Prof. Marek Wysocki from the Faculty of Architecture, who has worked in the spirit of the so-called universal design for many years, to increase the accessibility of Gdańsk Tech.

Krzysztof Dąbrowski, IRO - Hackathons have so far been associated with events addressed to programmers, whose aim was to develop solutions with business potential. Such projects also appeared during the FarU Hackathon and were very interesting, however, we are glad that there was also space for activities that would be difficult to commercialize, but which have huge social potential - like our Accessibility Center.

The event ended with the presentation of projects by teams and the award ceremony, which took place in the Auditorium in the Main Building of Gdańsk University of Technology. ​ Although the team that worked on the Accessibility Center idea did not make it to the podium, its members still unanimously agreed that participating in the hackathon was a fantastic experience.

Paulina Strąkowska, WIMiO - We met wonderful people from the University of Gdańsk and the Medical University of Gdańsk, with whom we hope to stay in touch and perhaps implement interesting projects for the Fahrenheit Union of Universities in the future.

- I hope that such events, in which both employees and students can participate and collaborate in mixed teams on various solutions for the university, will be organized more often - adds Jakub Modrzejewski-Szelag. ​

Hackathon winners (congratulations!):

1st place: "SEA MATH" project submitted by physicists and mathematicians from the University of Gdańsk ​
2nd place: “Zielona Płyta” project, the idea of Amelia Dolińska (GU), Paulina Duch-Żebrowska (Gdańsk Tech), Jakub Jabłoński (GU), Kornelia Wilk (Gdańsk Tech) and Krzysztof Ziółkowski (GU)
3rd place: "DepressionControlApp" project by the team consisting of: Szymon Bierzanowski (Gdańsk Tech), Adrianna Czerwińska (Gdańsk Tech), Krzysztof Pietruczuk (MUG) and Wojciech Rusinek (GU). ​

An account of the event can be found on the FarU website.