TH Student Wins Hackathon at Parisian University

Lilli, how did you find out about this hackathon?

The event, organized as part of the PIONEER Alliance, was primarily aimed at students specializing in urban development in North Rhine-Westphalia. Since urban planning issues were also involved, the hackathon was relevant to me. I am pursuing a Master’s degree in Architecture with a focus on resource-optimized construction. I learned about the event through the international coordinator of my department. I applied with a motivation letter and was subsequently accepted.

How did the hackathon unfold?

Beforehand, over 60 participants from various European universities met in online sessions. We were randomly assigned to groups to ensure a diverse mix of students from different countries. My group included young people from Finland, France, and Slovenia with backgrounds in engineering, urban planning, and transport planning. 

All teams spent an entire weekend working intensively on the same challenge: How can mobility in rural areas be improved? After analyzing several problems and challenges, our group focused on a key issue in France: social isolation in sparsely populated villages. This primarily affects elderly people who have limited mobility and cannot or do not want to relocate. Through workshops, we developed various ideas and decided to pursue one further. Our approach aims to restore social structures in villages and introduce new service offerings.

What does this idea look like in practice?

We designed a mobile marketplace where residents can buy everyday products such as food and medicine. For example, the goods can be stored on a bus that serves several villages within a certain radius. At the same time, it functions as a social hub, encouraging community interaction. Additionally, it reduces CO₂ emissions by replacing car trips to distant stores.

Depending on the terrain, the size and outfitting of the vehicle can vary. For example, our pilot region in southwestern France is relatively flat, allowing for larger buses. In the mountainous regions of Slovenia, smaller vans are more suitable. Each vehicle covers a set number of villages in its area and visits them as often as needed throughout the week. The next bus serves the neighboring area, continuing until an entire district is covered.

A few weeks later, you presented your idea at the EU Parliament. How was that experience?

Our team participated in the event “Mai à vélo,” where EU parliamentarians and mobility experts discussed promoting cycling and road safety. As hackathon winners, we had the opportunity to pitch our idea. The response was positive, although no concrete follow-up project is planned yet. For me, it was a valuable experience, especially because I gained insight into the decision-making and legislative processes during a major plenary session at the Parliament.