Hack the Future with AI: Students develop innovative solutions at AI hackathon

Some of the teams that designed and programmed their way to victory at the AI Hackathon @ HNU had traveled far to be there: in addition to HNU students, students from Darmstadt, Ilmenau, and Erlangen, among others, competed to tackle a challenge set by PERI SE. As one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of formwork and scaffolding systems, the company was looking for innovative ideas that would simplify processes in the AEC industry (architecture, engineering, construction) with the help of generative AI. The event was supported by the leading cloud provider STACKIT, which contributed the technical infrastructure for accessing established AI models. As a special highlight, Neu-Ulm's mayor Katrin Albsteiger personally presented the prizes to the winners.

Shaping the digital future – hands-on and with AI expertise

The event is part of HNU's comprehensive commitment to applied AI and digital innovation. “We want to empower students to actively shape the future – with creativity, technological expertise, and entrepreneurial thinking,” explains Prof. Dr. Jens Kolb. "The hackathon shows how hands-on transfer is practiced at HNU. Here, students work directly on real-world problems from industry and create creative, forward-looking solutions in a very short time – and direct added value for companies."

The challenge: developing an AI-supported system for identifying AEC trends

PERI's challenge highlighted the high standards shared by all involved in research and innovation work: participants were tasked with designing an AI-supported system that continuously identifies trends in the AEC industry, extracts relevant content, and structures it according to fields of innovation. This is because digitalization in the AEC industry is developing at a rapid pace. In order to remain competitive and make informed decisions for product development, companies need a quick, comprehensive overview of current industry trends. The aim of the tool is to derive strategic impulses for activities in the field of research and innovation, thereby strengthening the innovation process in the long term.

The challenge focused not only on the result, but also on the collaborative process. Prof. Dr. Alexander Bartel, organizer of the hackathon, emphasizes: “With formats like this, we promote not only technical skills, but also team spirit, innovative thinking, and the courage to try new things. These are key competencies for the digital future.”

After the challenge was launched, the participants formed interdisciplinary teams to develop their ideas. Initial concepts were discussed over lunch with PERI SE and further developed during the community dinner in the evening; those who wanted to continued hacking late into the night. The next morning, preparations for the pitch entered the final round before the three best teams finally presented their prototypes to visitors at the IT congress.

Secured first place: Team “finn.py”

The jury—consisting of Prof. Alexander Bartel (HNU), Prof. Aykan Inan (HNU), Florian Botzenhart (PERI SE), and Vishal Patel (PERI SE)—was impressed by the diversity of ideas and the technical depth of the solutions. “The diversity of approaches showed how creatively and practically AI solutions can be developed for the AEC industry. We need exactly this kind of impetus to further advance our activities in the field of research and innovation. Some of these ideas have the potential for everyday practical use,” says Florian Botzenhart, Head of Digital Solutions Research & Innovation, PERI SE.

In the end, the team “finn.py” (Jonathan Mendoza, Pradeep Singh, Mohamed Bouna) won first place with their solution “Finn.Agent.” The functional diversity of the AI agent they created and the sophisticated visual interface were particularly highlighted.

Second place went to the team “The Turing Tribe” (Vladyslav Karpenko, Sebastian Scharlipp, Dacheng Lu). Third place went to the team “[Please insert name here]” (Tim Wenzel, Julian Schulz, Christian Klein, Nicolas Ringhandt).

Hacking with added value

In addition to the prize money, the students gained experience, new contacts, and valuable insights into real-world innovation practices. STACKIT also emphasized the added value of the hackathon and was impressed by how the students used their own cloud infrastructure and AI models to develop innovative solutions in a very short time. Promoting practical AI skills and emerging talent is part of STACKIT's corporate culture.

About the event

The AI Hackathon @ HNU took place as part of the Neu-Ulm | Ulm IT Congress, one of the region's leading IT events. Every year, the congress brings together several hundred participants from business and science to discuss current trends and practical IT solutions. The hackathon associated with the congress offered students from HNU and other universities the opportunity to tackle a real-world challenge with the help of modern technologies – in a practical, creative way and with direct relevance to the industry.

Contact
Prof. Dr. Alexander Bartel