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As part of its mission to strengthen innovation capacity in Southeastern Europe and empower students to develop entrepreneurial and problem-solving skills, the METACITIES project organised its first Joint Hackathon, a major challenge-based learning event that took place on 27 November 2025. Designed to boost participants’ abilities in smart-city solution design, digital innovation, and business pitching, the Hackathon brought together young innovators from three countries (Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus) and provided them with an intensive preparation, mentoring, and evaluation process.

The event concluded with great success, demonstrating the strong potential of emerging talents and the added value of structured capacity-building activities within the METACITIES ecosystem.

This achievement was the result of an extended preparation process that began with the Info Day on 20 October, moderated by Associate Professor Tanya Politi (acting coordinator on behalf of the University of Patras). During the Info Day, participants received essential guidelines from Dr. Katerina Lamprakopoulou (UOP), task leader of Knowledge Transfer & Capacity Building; expert guidance on developing a strong pitch deck by Mrs. Sne Alam, Director of Strategy & Management at SmartAvatar B.V.; and practical insights into real municipal challenges from: Vasilis Papaioannou (Patras Municipality), Charalambos Papadopoulos (Municipality of Nicosia), Boyan Popuknyov (Municipality of Burgas, Bulgaria).

A total of 25 applications were submitted by undergraduate and postgraduate students, graduates, and PhD candidates from disciplines such as electrical and computer engineering, computer science, economics and business. Through a structured matchmaking process, the organizing committee formed 11 competing teams (7 pre-existing and 4 newly composed). Over the following weeks, the teams worked closely with 7 mentors from the METACITIES consortium (Albena Mihovska, Marios Nicolaou, Neeli Prasad, Sne Alam, Christiana Ioannou, Vasos Vassiliou) and its partner network (Dimitris Karadimas), refining their solutions and preparing for the final pitch.

On 27 November, the teams presented their ideas during a live online event before an international panel of experts:

• Mahbubul Alam (Chairman, SmartAvatar)
• Junaid Islam (Founder & CTO, XQ)
• Louis Nisiotis (Assistant Professor, University of Central Lancashire – Cyprus)
• Pete Tsolis (Director of Business Programs, Hellenic American University & Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship)

Each team had 4 minutes to present, followed by a Q&A session. While the jury acknowledged the technical maturity and originality of the solutions, they also posed targeted questions that encouraged participants to think more critically about the future applications of their ideas, identify potential weaknesses, and experience the realistic pressure of pitching in front of experts. Through this process, students were exposed to an environment that mirrors real investment-seeking scenarios, where the goal is not only to win a competition but also to prepare for potential future funding opportunities.

After an evaluation procedure facilitated by a dedicated platform that allowed for rating each presentation based on weighted pre-defined criteria, the three winning teams that stood out were :

1st Prize – MISHO: Machine Intelligence System for Helping the Optically Impaired (Bulgaria)

An advanced assistive-technology solution integrating OCR, TTS, image recognition, and environmental sensors into smart VR glasses that enhance autonomy, safety, and accessibility for visually impaired individuals. MISHO offers a socially impactful, technologically mature, and scalable solution with strong relevance for European accessibility initiatives.

2nd Prize – Urban Intelligence Team: Patras FireNet (Greece)

A wildfire-risk evaluation and rapid-verification system for the greater Patras area. Combining open environmental data, strategically placed drone-sensor towers, edge sensing, and citizen participation via a web app, the solution strengthens community resilience, early detection capacity, and smart-city emergency preparedness.

3rd Prize – TTL Labs Team: Stray-Aware Urban Mobility Safety System (Greece)

A humane, city-scale mobility-safety platform addressing the rising risk posed by stray-animal incidents in urban areas. The solution uses smart collars, rider-alert devices, multimodal analytics (CCTV, acoustic feeds, citizen reporting), and a governance framework aligned with Greek Law 4830/2021 to help municipalities enhance safety and fulfil statutory responsibilities.

The panel of experts were highly impressed by the quality, innovation, and technical maturity of all participants, while the METACITIES consortium is already exploring follow-up actions. More activities empowering young innovators and supporting the project’s mission are planned for the last year of the project.