|text: Paulina Trybek|
|photos: Paulina Trybek i Bartosz Hanuszkiewicz|
From 28 to 30 September, the international hackathon HackoWatt – AI for Green Energy: Smart Energy Challenge took place. Participants could join the event either on-site at Spin-Place in Katowice or online. Students worked on applications and tools using artificial intelligence to address real-world challenges in the energy sector. The competition scenarios included, among others, energy consumption forecasting, optimisation of energy use, and analysis of the potential application of renewable energy sources.
Preparations
A total of 24 teams representing Polish and international universities registered for the hackathon. Participants included students from the University of Silesia in Katowice, the University of Warsaw, AGH University of Krakow, the Military University of Technology, the Medical University of Warsaw, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, the Silesian University of Technology, Poznań University of Economics and Business, Poznań University of Technology, Lodz University of Technology, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Warsaw University of Technology, and WSB Merito University.
International participants represented, among others, Halmstad University, LMU Munich, Hochschule Mittweida, Technische Universität Berlin, the University of Pisa, the University of Alicante, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, the Berlin School of Business and Innovation, and Vilnius University.
Competition
On 28 September at 11:00 a.m., five competition scenarios were published ( we encourage you to explore them here: competition scenarios).
The teams had 24 hours to prepare and submit their solutions together with a short presentation.
In the end, 15 teams took up the challenge and submitted completed applications.
On 30 September, the highest-rated teams were invited to the final session, during which they presented their solutions in detail to the jury. The jury included representatives of the Faculty of Science and Technology at the University of Silesia, Vattenfall, and international partner universities involved in the AI2SEP Erasmus+ project (https://ai2sep.us.edu.pl).
Final Results
All submitted solutions demonstrated interesting approaches to the challenges and deserved recognition. Following the final presentations, the jury selected the winners:
- 1st place and a prize of PLN 7.500 went to the five-member team MIF’o katinai from Vilnius University.
- 2nd place and a prize of PLN 2.700 went to the three-member team Legions, composed of students from the University of Warsaw and AGH University of Krakow.
- 3rd place and a prize of PLN 1.200 went to the two-member team PWRbetter from Wrocław University of Science and Technology.
MIF’o katinai Team | Vilnius University
Congratulations to all the winners!
Summary
HackoWatt also had an important regional dimension. Organising an international event dedicated to artificial intelligence and modern energy technologies in Katowice attracted students from both Polish and international universities, helping to promote the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis as a region open to innovation, emerging technologies, and cooperation between academia and business.
We would like to thank our co-organisers from Vattenfall for their substantive and organisational support of the event.
We would also like to extend our special thanks to the Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis for funding the prizes and supporting an event that strengthens the region’s potential as a hub for innovation, new technologies, and future-oriented skills.
We are also very grateful to the students of Computer Science, Applied Computer Science, and Micro- and Nanotechnology for their tremendous help and commitment to organising the event.
Event coordinators on behalf of the University of Silesia: Dr Paulina Trybek and Dr Bartosz Dziewit
Event coordinators on behalf of Vattenfall: Przemysław Dana and Bartosz Hanuszkiewicz
Photogallery
Projekt “Hackaton AI dla Zielonej Energii: Smart Energy Challenge” został dofinansowany przez Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowską Metropolię w ramach Programu „Metropolitalny Fundusz Wspierania Nauki”.
#MetropoliaNauki
