Social benefit in focus when this year’s winner of Borås Tech Challenge was chosen

For 24 intensive hours on 8–9 May, over 200 participants gathered at the University of Borås to participate in this year’s arrangement of the Borås Tech Challenge – a hackathon where technology meets societal benefit. With the theme “Hack 4 Good”, the participants created digital solutions for a better society. Now the winners in the five competition categories have been announced.

The organiser of the hackathon is Tech Borås with support from nearly 30 sponsoring organisations. This year, a record number of participants created digital innovations during an intensive 24 hours. Among the many good ideas, we saw proposals for technical solutions that help reduce food waste, an app to detect telephone scams, a game to learn more about the global sustainability goals, and a platform to support students struggling with poor school attendance.  

Winning entries in five categories

Best Overall Solution

Team Centiro

The selection committee’s comments: The team has developed a structured and well-thought-out solution proposal that integrated several complex components into an efficient and well-functioning overall flow.

Team members: Jesper Svensson, Jenny Ta, Emil Malmgren and Pontus Erlandsson.

Best Technical Solution

IO Solutions

The selection committee’s comments: A workable advanced solution to a real problem.

Team members: Oscar Andrén, Tobias Kiel, Ronney Zetterström and Alexander Bergqvist (not pictured). 

Best Student Contribution  

Team JS02, students from Högskolan i Borås

The selection committee’s comments: Skills development relevant to the target audience.

Team members: Abdulla Mehdi, Anton Bäckdahl, Caroline Swanpalmer, Joakim Olsson and Johanna Gull.

Best pitch

Team JS02, students from Högskolan i Borås

The selection committee’s comments: An accurate pitch with a clear connection to the theme with a fun conclusion.

Team members: Abdulla Mehdi, Anton Bäckdahl, Caroline Swanpalmer, Joakim Olsson and Johanna Gull.

Best Upper Secondary (High School) Team:

Team Pimp My Gear from Sven Eriksonsgymnasiet

Team Pimp My Gear from Sven Eriksonsgymnasiet

The selection committee’s comments: Innovation with a clear method and focus on the target audience. High level of technology and good cooperation.

Team members: Ellen Björkman, Vilma Lundkvist, Erik Arneborg, Mert Gülmez, Anton Jarvoll, Noel Wester, Hugo Benjaminsson, David Sundvall and Leo Jensen.

What happens to the competition entries?

Those who created the contributions own the rights to them. On 13 May, the teams that wanted to have had the opportunity to show their competition entry one more time. At that time, representatives from the business community, the university, the City of Borås, and Borås Incubator at the university gathered to provide support on opportunities to take the ideas further.

Read more:

Hackathon for a good cause