The Ultimate Platform for Realizing Ideas... Universities Embrace the Hackathon Craze

10 Universities Gather at Hanyang University to Bring Ideas to Life
Chung-Ang University Expands Overseas, Fostering Greater Talent Exchange
Dong-A University Joins In, Hackathon Craze Remains Strong in Regional Areas

Universities are actively participating in hackathon competitions to foster artificial intelligence (AI) talent.

Hackathon Competition Held at Hanyang University with Participation from 10 Universities Nationwide

Participants are taking photos during the 'SUMTECH Hackathon 2025' held at Hanyang University ERICA Campus on the 30th and 31st of last month. Hanyang University

According to Hanyang University on November 21, the Hanyang University ERICA SW-Centered University Project Group hosted the 'SUMTECH Hackathon 2025' at the ERICA campus on the 30th and 31st of last month. Organized by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Institute of Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP), the event brought together 10 universities from across the country, including Suncheon National University, Mokwon University, and Chung-Ang University.

A hackathon is a portmanteau of hacking and marathon, referring to a competition where teams are formed to plan ideas and directly create prototypes or services within a set period of time. It is mainly an event where people from various backgrounds-such as developers, planners, and designers-divide roles to produce solutions for specific topics or problems.

The SUMTECH Hackathon 2025 was organized under the theme 'AI That Changes the World' to discover innovative ideas in various fields such as environment, energy, and mobility. A total of 85 students formed teams and collaborated on planning, development, and demonstrations.

The grand prize went to 'Perfect Night,' a team led by Hanyang University ERICA students, for their AI health self-check service called 'How Are You These Days?'. This service analyzes users' symptoms and emotional states through AI conversations and provides hospital referrals and customized care solutions. The panel of judges highly praised the students' growth potential, stating, "It excelled not only in technological completeness but also in realizing social value."

Chung-Ang University Expands Hackathons Overseas

Some universities are expanding hackathon competitions internationally. The College of Virtual Convergence and the Immersive Media Innovation Convergence Project Group at Chung-Ang University jointly hosted the '2025 CAU-ITB Joint Hackathon' with the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) at the ITB campus in Indonesia from the 9th to the 11th.

Chung-Ang University plans to use this hackathon as an opportunity to expand joint research and practical talent exchanges in the field of AI and media convergence. ITB is Indonesia's top engineering university and a creative innovation hub in Southeast Asia, actively pursuing numerous global projects and industry-academic collaborations.

Participants are taking photos during the '2025 CAU-ITB Joint Hackathon' held from the 9th to 11th at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) campus in Indonesia. Chung-Ang University

For this competition, five teams were formed, each consisting of two Chung-Ang University students and two ITB students. Three professors from each university served as mentors, providing team-specific guidance.

The top prize went to a team that developed a customized job matching platform for job seekers using AI technology, taking into account the structure of the Indonesian job market, language differences, and low-spec device environments. Other notable ideas included a personalized curation app combining K-culture and fashion trends, and a waste management platform utilizing AI-proposals designed to address local challenges by reflecting regional needs.

Hackathon Craze Spreads to Regional Universities

The hackathon fever is also heating up in regional areas. The Software Innovation Center at Dong-A University, with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT and IITP, is set to host the 'AI Convergence Data Hackathon Competition (AI VOYAGE 2025)' the following day at venues such as BEXCO and the Suyeong Bay Yacht Stadium in Busan. A total of 15 teams (about 150 students) from four universities-Dong-A University, Inha University, Pusan National University, and Pukyong National University-are scheduled to participate.

This competition, themed 'Explore, Capture, Share,' is the world's first real-time AI-based generative content hackathon to be held on the sea. Participants will leverage their interdisciplinary skills in AI data processing, content creation, mechanical and industrial design, business analysis, and storytelling to analyze AI-based marine data and create urban cultural content.

The data generated during the competition-including trajectory data, images, and content-will be shared as public datasets, allowing local industries and researchers to utilize them. Dong-A University estimates that more than 1,000 records of trajectory data based on yacht routes and location information, over 2,000 pieces of content such as images and videos generated by generative AI, and more than 10,000 pieces of real-time accumulated social network service (SNS) reaction data from team activities will be collected.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.