Innovate your future

The 2026 WFEO Hackathon which is being held as part of the celebrations of World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development, is focussed on young engineering students and is an opportunity to showcase engineering talent around the world in solving some of the UN Sustainable development Goals through engineering.

The theme of World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development 2026 is “Smart Engineering for a sustainable future through innovation and digitalisation” because our future stands at a crossroads. Humanity’s progress has brought incredible advances in technology, industry, and innovation meaning more people than ever before are living longer, healthier and wealthier lives. Yet right now we are overshooting the limits of our planet and too many people have still been left behind.

• Seven of nine scientifically recognised life-supporting planetary systems are in significant overshoot, pushing our home planet towards irreversible damage and a future that is not hospitable to human life. [Reference: Planetary health check]
• Millions of people still do not have access to clean water, improved sanitation facilities, reliable energy, safe housing, quality education and healthcare; the basic infrastructure to live a safe and just life. [Reference: Doughnut Economics 2025 report]

Our systems are out of balance. Industry, innovation and infrastructure can be a significant driving force to achieving this balance when focused on prioritising social and environmental good.

We invite you to be part of this call to action and shape a brighter future for everyone. Explore the WFEO Hackathon challenges below:

Specific Challenges

The additional UN Sustainable Goals that are specific to the three challenges of the WFEO Hackathon are:

• Challenge 1: SDG 11: “Sustainable cities and communities” - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. We challenge you to develop engineering solutions that design and build smarter urban systems for a liveable, sustainable future [View Challenge 1]
• Challenge 2: SDG 12: “Responsible consumption and production” - Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. We challenge you to develop engineering solutions that produce, use and reuse resources to ensure responsible material use [View Challenge 2]
• Challenge 3: SDG 14: “Life below water” and SDG 15 “Life on Land” - Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development and protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. We challenge you to develop engineering solutions that Restore, regenerate and protect life on land and below water to rebalance the ecosystems we rely on [View Challenge 3]