For a successful scientific career, the ability to collaborate with scientists and experts from different area’s of expertise is crucial. The hackathon ’Vitality & Society’ offers PhD and PDEng students the chance to expand their professional network, to gain experience in interdisciplinary collaboration and to work on their academic skills.The event corresponds with the ambitions of the new ‘Vitality Academy’ (website), which uses ‘vitality’ as a combinative theme between several areas of knowledge and practice.

By who and what?
The hackathon is organized by the Technical Unievrsity Eindhoven (TU/e), Utrecht University (UU) and the University Medical Centre Utrecht. The Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB), the municipality of Eindhoven and the sports centres of the TU/e and UU are partners that will bring in vitality issues where participants of the hackachthon will reflect upon. The participants will invent and develop new, smart solutions for those issues. The named partners have a strong interest in the issues at hand and are thus involved in defining the criteria and preconditions for the requested solutions. The assignment for the participants is to invent an develop new, smart solutions for the issue

For who?
The participants are PhD and PDEng students from different areas of expertise (technology, ICT, public administration and organizational sciences, sociology, management, psychology, geography a.o.). The intended solutions demand the integration of different fields of study and the involvement of both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Cross-overs between varying disciplines and schools of research are becoming ever so more important in science and are a prerequisite for innovation in society as well. Therefore, co-creation and interdisciplinary collaboration characterize this hackathon.

How?
During the event interesting lectures will be given and various activities will be organized to stimulate inspiration and creativity. Catering will be taken care off and we will be hacking in a pleasing surrounding. The hackathon will start with a kick-off where the backgrounds, goals and working methods will be clarified to the participants. After that, several partners from practice will introduce and explain their glaring vitality issue. Subsequently, the teams will be formed and the issues will be divided over the teams, taking into account interests and expertise of the team members. Finally, the process of inventing and developing a suitable solution will start.

The working process will be under constant time pressure, for example due to intermediate pitches, deliverables and deadlines for the client. Frequent changes of working method are promoted. All teams get access to different, relevant sources of information. Next to that they can consult several experts from theory and practice that will attend the hackathon. The teams will be in competition and the final solutions will be judged by an expert jury. Important criteria in this decision will be the applicability and value for the clients.

Whats in it for me?
All participants will have an enriching experience that brings them new academic skills and knowhow and will enlarge their professional network in both science and practice. Everyone receives a certificate of participation that is signed by all organizing partners. Apart from that, the winning team will earn an attractive selection of prizes that can prove to be valuable for their scientific career. Examples are the possibility to publish in relevant media together with leading scientists involved in the hackathon, or the chance to speech at a prominent convention.
Do you want more information or do you want to sign up? Participation in this unique event is free of charge, but there is room for only 25 candidates. Are you interested? Sign up as soon as possible by sending an email to info@vitalityacademy.eu

We hope to see you in January!

On behalf of all organizing partners,

Technical University Eindhoven
University of Utrecht
UMC Utrecht
Partners from practice