Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2025 World Engineering Day Hackathon.
Our judges selected the top 15 entries from this year’s World Engineering Day Hackathon. The videos are listed in no particular order.
The final round of judging is over.
The World Engineering Day Hackathon would not have been possible without the support of our diligent judges, who spent hours watching and reviewing every submission.
We would like to thank them all for their support throughout the Hackathon.
The World Engineering Day Hackathon would not have been possible without the support of our diligent judges, who spent hours watching and reviewing every submission. We would like to thank them all for their support throughout the Hackathon.
Watch all the entries from this year’s Hackathon and vote for your favorites.
By March 4 2025, the entry with the most votes will be declared the public favorite and will win €1,000.
Explore the Hackathon challenges based on real-world issues related to poverty.
Poverty is not just a lack of income. It’s a lack of education, food, health care, shelter, political inclusion, choice, safety, and dignity. It is a complex issue with far-reaching consequences beyond those it directly affects.
Poverty and growing inequality are detrimental to economic growth and social cohesion; increasing political and social tensions, and driving instability and conflict.
If current trends continue, it is anticipated that 575 million people will still be living in extreme poverty, and only one third of countries will have halved their national poverty levels by 2030.
The climate crisis threatens to increase poverty. Nearly 1 in 5 people are likely to experience a severe weather shock in their lifetime from which they will struggle to recover, and inequality will increase in poorer countries where people are more likely to suffer from the negative impacts of climate change.
The theme of World Engineering Day 2025 is Shaping a sustainable future through engineering. The celebrations of World Engineering Day will showcase the contributions of engineers in contributing to addressing global problems.
In particular the development of innovative technologies that tackle climate change and reduce greenhouse emissions, and other challenges such as ensuring clean sources of water, reliable low-cost sources of electricity, and more liveable cities.
In addition, the overarching theme for the World Engineering Day 2025 Hackathon is SDG 1: No Poverty. All entries for the 2025 Hackathon will need to address this overarching Sustainable Development Goal.
Engineers can increase access to clean water, improved sanitation, reliable energy, nutritious food, safe and secure shelter, and quality healthcare, social care, education and economic opportunities, as addressing these issues requires physical and digital infrastructure.
It is important that these developments consider an integrated approach prioritising social, environmental and economic justice, so that everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
Achieving SDG 1 and ending poverty in all its forms everywhere, is a social justice issue that engineers can meaningfully and tangibly address.
The World Engineering Day (WED) Hackathon is a unique annual competition inviting participants to develop solutions to global issues that bring us closer to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Participants select one of three exciting challenges based on real-world scenarios and work in teams to create a short video outlining their solution. This year, the challenges are based on UN Sustainable Development Goal 1: No Poverty.
This event is aimed at engineering students, but individuals from all disciplines and secondary school students who have a passion for engineering are invited to join.
The Hackathon is entirely online and runs from November 12–26 . All entries must be submitted by 5pm CET on November 26.
The top three prizes will be selected by our judges and the last prize will be chosen by the public. Each prize will be split evenly between the members of the winning teams.
1. Teams typically consist of 3-5 members and are formed offline, at your school or university.
2. The Hackathon is open to individuals without a background in engineering and students in secondary school. However, the team captain must have an engineering degree (Bachelor’s/Master’s in Engineering) or be currently studying for an engineering degree.
3. The majority of team members in a group must have an engineering background (Bachelor’s/Master’s in Engineering).
4. If you do not have a team in mind, you can check out this Facebook group – dedicated to helping people form teams.
5. You will have to provide details about each team member, including contact details and a team photo, during the submission process.
The WED Hackathon is an initiative brought by the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO), in partnership with UNESCO and Engineers Without Borders International (EWB-I), powered and supported by The Big Creative.
This competition reflects the global partnership that brings WFEO, UNESCO, and the International Engineering Alliance (IEA) together to achieve a global update and harmonization of engineers’ skills to face the challenges of sustainable development, through the Graduate Attributes & Professional Competencies (GAPC).
1. The team captain must have an engineering degree (Bachelor’s or Master’s in Engineering) or be currently studying for an engineering degree.
2. The majority of members in any team must have a n engineering background (Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering), or be currently studying for an engineering degree. PhD students are eligible to participate in the Hackathon, but cannot make up the majority of the members on any team.
3. The video element of the submission can be recorded in any language, but must include English-language subtitles.
4.The written element of the submission must be in English.
The entrants retain ownership of their designs.
By participating in the Hackathon, each participant licenses WFEO and the World Engineering Day Committee to use and modify for use any submitted photographs, video, or written content as part of promotion for this and future Hackathon events.
Artificial intelligence is one of the fastest growing emerging technologies and has the potential to revolutionize the engineering field. As such, AI tools and software can be used to assist in the creation of the Hackathon submission, including in visualizations which help demonstrate a solution.
However, the AI technology can not be used in a way that is misleading or misrepresents the potential of a solution. This includes using AI to generate visualizations of a technology that could not exist in reality or using Deep Fake software to create fake endorsements for a solution.
Based on the International Engineering Alliance Global Graduate Attribute and Professional Competencies Profiles.
Each entry will be judged on five criteria:
How well the team has used its engineering knowledge and skill in developing a solution and the thoroughness with which the problem has been researched and analyzed.
How effectively the solution approaches the issue in a unique and innovative way. Teams are judged on the level of experimentation in their solution, including using new and emerging technologies.
The extent to which digital tools, such as AI, computer modeling, Computer Aided Design and Drawing, and 3D printing, have been used to design, develop and demonstrate the solution.
The extent to which the solution advances one or more of the UN SDGs and addresses broad ethical issues, in terms of the solution’s impact on the environment, different sections of society and the economy. Teams are judged on how effectively these concerns have been addressed, by mitigating adverse impacts and enhancing positive impacts.
How effectively the team has collaborated to develop their solution. Teams are judged on effective communication of the solution, successful project management, financial analysis of the feasibility of implementing the solution and plans for its further development.
This competition utilizes a digital Submission Portal where users can submit their entries. You can access this site via the “Submit Now” links on the page but only once the challenges have been announced.
No, although the WED Hackathon is aimed at engineering students, the event is open to students currently in secondary school or university students studying non-engineering degrees.
This includes students attending university or recent graduates – whether at Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD level – as well as vocational education courses, technical colleges, polytechnics, etc.
No, we can accept teams which are made up of a number of universities/institutions.
The top 10 Finalists will be announced on February 6, 2025. The winning entries will be announced on March 4, 2025.
No, the WED Hackathon is completely free to enter.
The challenges will be released on this website on November 12, 2024.
Registrations close on 22 November 2024. All team members must be registered when submissions close.
Teams are to be made up of 3–5 students, with a majority being engineering students .
Your submission must include: a 5-minute video; a photo of your team; and a short accompanying text about your solution. The written element must be in English. The video element can be recorded in any language, but must have English subtitles. Further details will be shared when the challenges are released.
The three winning entries from 2023 are available on the WED website.
The World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO) is the global organization for the engineering profession. Founded in 1968, under the auspices of UNESCO, WFEO brings together national engineering institutions from some 100 nations and represents more than 30 million engineers. WFEO created the World Engineering Day Hackathon as part of the celebration for World Engineering Day.
The World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development (WED) is an official International Day proclaimed in 2019 by UNESCO. Held annually on March 4, WED is an opportunity to celebrate engineering and the contribution of the world’s engineers for a better, more sustainable world.
Learn more about our World Engineering Day Hackathon, a highly anticipated event set to make its exciting return in 2024. Join us as we celebrate innovation, collaboration, and the power of engineering to tackle global challenges.
If you are not sure where to start, view the top three winning entries from last year’s Hackathon.
Last year, the Hackathon focused on the theme “Engineering solutions for a sustainable world.” Teams were set three challenges based on real-world engineering scenarios linked to UN Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate Action.
