October 12th and 13th, Nova School of Business and Economics had, for the first time, a hackathon – a 24h marathon in which all participants were challenged to come up with solutions for three business challenges.
The initiative, coordinated in partnership with Ageas Portugal, took place at Healthcare City, in Tagus Park, a ludic and singular city, in which all participants – this year it had students from 9 different nationalities – would have to address three specific business cases. This marathon, which started at 11 a.m. on October 12th and ended at 1 p.m. the next day, was organized not only to highlight the student’s talent and improve the business areas in question with new ideas and methods, but also to challenge their proactivity and creativity. Aside from that, the students also participated in several games and ludic activities so that they wouldn’t lose their energy and will to push further.
The winning team, constituted by Luís Navega, Benedita Contreras, and Rafael Beirão Chamusca, was awarded the possibility of co-developing their winning project with Ageas Portugal, an internship at Ageas Portugal (ranging from three months to one year) a 1500€ prize and also an auto insurance. Team 2 (Chloé Sentex, Filipe Valadas, and Ana Leonor Gonçalves) and Team 6 (Henry Kenzo, Alek Salej, and Matija Salej) got honorable mentions that were not initially forseen. However, the honorable mentions were awarded due to the quality of the team’s proposals. All participants received a participation diploma, free travel insurance, the opportunity to develop the master’s thesis or work-project with Ageas, and the possibility of joining Ageas internal events about innovation. Additionally, the two teams that received honourable mentions were also awarded with a 500€ cash prize.