News & Events

The METACITIES Excellence Hub is launching a Joint Hackathon in 2025 bringing together students, young researchers, and entrepreneurs from Greece, Cyprus, and Bulgaria to develop innovative, technology-driven solutions for smart and sustainable cities. The online event will focus on three thematic areas of high importance for urban transformation: Smart Mobility, Smart Buildings and Energy Efficiency, and Smart Urban Planning.

Hackathons are widely recognized as powerful instruments for stimulating creativity, accelerating knowledge transfer, and fostering entrepreneurial mindsets. By working in intercultural and interdisciplinary teams, participants will not only enhance their technical and collaborative skills (upskilling) but also engage in problem-solving processes that address real societal challenges. The joint hackathon offers the opportunity to experiment, design, and propose feasible solutions, supported by mentoring from experienced professionals.

For the METACITIES Excellence Hub, this hackathon represents a flagship initiative. It reinforces the Hub’s ambition to strengthen research and innovation ecosystems in Southeastern Europe by scouting innovative ideas and engaging the next generation of talent in co-creating solutions for municipalities and regions. Moreover, the hackathon aligns with the Excellence Hub’s wider objective to foster sustainable digital transformation through inclusive, cross-border collaboration.

Further details on the event’s agenda, registration process, and evaluation framework will be announced shortly. Participants will compete for significant awards, including the opportunity to visit the headquarters of METACITIES partners abroad, gaining deeper insights into their operations and innovation practices.