The “Mobile First for Students” project – conducted under the lead of WU in cooperation with University of Graz and University of Veterinary Medicine and co-funded by the Austrian Ministry of Education, Science and Research – includes the development of a university app intended to make academic life easier and more convenient for all students in Austria. The mobile app will include 3 core functionalities: an electronic student ID card, NFC technology for opening doors and accessing buildings on campus, and a chatbot feature. Primarily, the app will be implemented in the form of an open source solution. Beyond these core functionalities, however, it is also possible to add further features to the app to make academic life easier for students.

We want your ideas for the app

The hackathon will be hosted by WU and will take place during the DigiEduHack, which will be held simultaneously across the globe to generate ideas for the future of education in the digital age. WU is one of 50 educational and education-related organizations from 28 countries around the world that will host events. During the hackathon, students and anyone interested will have the opportunity to share their ideas and make an active contribution to the development of the Austrian university app.

Participate as a team or as a single contributor

Participants will work on their ideas in teams of 4 to 7 people. Participants who are not part of a team yet will be placed in teams together with other suitable candidates during an online session held before the start of the event. During the hackathon, the teams will learn about the technological capabilities of mobile apps. Based on these insights, they will develop their own prototype university app. No programming skills are required to participate in the challenge. We are merely looking for ideas to improve students’ academic life and their day-to-day experience at university. During the entire event, a number of mentors will be on hand to support the WU hackathon teams. A jury will select the winners of the Austrian contest. Participants can win prizes of up to €1,000. The finalists will also have the opportunity to compete in a global contest, where 3 prizes will be awarded, each worth €5,000.  

Further information on the Austrian Challenge: Improve the students' everyday life by leveraging the capabilities of a smartphone

Contact:
Cornelia Moll
Press Relations Officer
Tel: + 43-1-31336-4977
Email: cornelia.moll@wu.ac.at