The CoRoSect Hackathon fostering Creative Breakthroughs

In the fast-paced world of innovation and technology, project teams are constantly seeking ways to foster creativity, collaboration, and breakthrough ideas. One powerful tool that has gained immense popularity is the Hackathon organized under the umbrella of the CoRoSect project. These types of events bring together individuals with different backgrounds and skill sets to tackle complex challenges, encourage out-of-the-box thinking, and raise bar for projects.

Why is the Hackathon important?

Hackathon is renowned for the ability to ignite creativity and provide a unique platform for participants to brainstorm and experiments, because Hackathon encourage unbounded thinking and imaginative problem-solving. For that reason, CoRoSect is a fruitful field for participants to be free from constraints of traditional workflows, where unconventional approaches can be explored and boundaries be pushed. As a result, not only the project itself, but also the participants receive wave of creative suggestions that provide the project new viewpoints, fostering mutual development.

The 1^st CoRoSect Hackathon, three-day event, was organized by a partner FieldLab Robotics, and it was powered by Nasekomo and SCHUNCK. More than 50 students from the Department of Advanced Computing Science at Maastricht University were brought together to foster collaboration and devise inventive solutions for various challenges. The primary objective was to address the complexities of robotization in insect farms, utilizing state-of-the-art technologies and employing innovative approaches to problem-solving.

On the 2^nd day of the Hackathon, Maria Alexandrova from Nasekomo spoke about the value of insect farming and how it could develop into a significant sustainable and circular food and feed source. Additionally, Nasekomo posed the challenge of creating a code for counting the legs of insects. The young robotic talents rose to the occasion once more, applying their creativity and knowledge to contribute to the solution of the food system’s sustainability conundrum.

It can be stated that Hackathons are knowledge incubators where young talents can enhance their skills and learn from each other as well. Engaging in intense problem-solving scenarios exposes participants to new technologies, methodologies, and perspectives.

For the final day of the CoRoSect Hackathon, students were given a planning and routing challenge, which was motivated by Nasekomo opening multiple waste reuse facilities throughout Europe. In order to discover the best routes for truck while taking into account various constraint, the students were given graphs. The task was broken down into a routing issue and a scheduling difficulty. Minimizing CO2 emissions, cost optimization, and creating a schedule for all drivers were a few restrictions that needed to be taken into consideration.

The winners of the CoRoSect Hackathon were 1^st place – Rafael Diederen, 2^nd place Valentina Cadena, and 3^rd place Johannes Bendler. Among the awards, the young talents have also brought home the learning takeaways, that a Hackathon provided. It will have a lasting impact, equipping them with a versatile skill set that can be further applied.

The CoRoSect Hackathon has successfully concluded, and all the participants were excited with their own achievements.