Recently, a group of our students spent the day at The Hague Tech participating in the Hackathon for Good – Youth Edition, a first-of-its-kind event designed to bring together young innovators to solve real-world challenges through design thinking, prototyping, and storytelling.

 

Students worked on two highly relevant prompts. The first challenged teams to design systems that help cyclists detect potential traffic dangers using visual, auditory, or tactile alerts. The second invited them to explore how AI can support young people in navigating online threats such as cyberbullying, misinformation, peer pressure, and stress.

 

Our teams rose to the occasion with creativity and technical curiosity. For the AI challenge, they proposed NoCapAI, an AI-powered website concept that helps teens identify and respond to harmful online interactions. The students created an interface to communicate their idea—earning them the popularity vote–also gaining hands-on experience in website planning, UI development, and digital storytelling along the way.

 

For the bike-safety challenge, another group designed a hardware prototype similar to the close-range device sensing used during the COVID-era—to detect fast-moving objects on a potential collision path with a cyclist.

 

Participating in external events like this hackathon brings great opportunities for our students beyond expanding their technical and creative skills. Connecting to our broader external tech community and mentors from across The Hague, allows them to see themselves from a different position than students, but as contributors to real technological solutions.