FAQ | Get all the info

No, this is possible, but not required.
At the beginning of the hackathon, various project ideas and challenges will be presented. You can work on the project idea that inspires you most.

No, the Hackdays are not only for developers.
We welcome designers, analysts, journalists, researchers, energy experts, students, and anyone curious about energy innovation.

Participation in the Hackdays is free of charge – thanks to the generous support of our sponsors and partners. We provide food (including breakfast), electricity, internet, and basic workspace infrastructure during the event.

👉 You can create your account during the registration process or via this link.

No, that’s not necessary either. It is important that you contribute to the success of your chosen project and discuss with your team when and where you work.

It`s English.
In the groups, feel free to adapt to your preferences.

The most important thing: interest in the themes energy and data.
Don't forget your laptop and possibly a sleeping bag. If you are coming from outside Switzerland, please don't forget your power adapter. 

However, we will provide you with a basic set of materials such as papers, flipcharts, post-it, food and drinks. 

We want the resulting Hackdays projects to have a long-term, sustainable impact. Accordingly, partner organizations and Challenge Owners are happy to continue to support and promote promising projects and results to the best of their abilities.

The discussion about energy also goes on within the EDIH Working Group:
Have a look!

• Expand your network with diverse contacts from the scene
• Work with like-minded people on a project idea that is close to your heart
• Find out more about new developments in the energy sector
• Present a project idea and motivate the experts to develop it further with you

Data sets should contribute to solving the challenges. As data sets are required to solve tasks, the challenge owner's own data sets are necessary for processing in most cases. Data may only be processed on programs and servers within the network provided.

The documentation of the challenges will be published on Github and on the SwissEnergy website. 
The data used for the solution will not be published.

Take a look at the past projects:
Archive

The challenges and their results are freely accessible and will be published on the homepages of opendata.ch and the BfE (Swiss Federal Office of Energy) after the event. They will be made available to interested parties (universities, engineering offices, developers, challenge owners, participants in the hackdays) for further use.

Primarily with the challenge owner. Publishing the documentation would theoretically make it possible to use them, but this has not yet been done. Complete solutions are also rarely developed as part of hackdays. Rather, they are approaches and MVPs.

Data & Data Sets:
Publicly accessible data sets remain publicly accessible. If challenge owners provide their own data for processing the task, this is generally only available for the event (or their own challenge). The challenge owner can also make certain data sets available for other events depending on their own governance requirements and make these sets freely available.

Models:
This depends heavily on the challenge owner and the challenge itself. The documentation of the challenges is published on Github and on the SwissEnergy website. This means that they are not only available to the challenge owner. As a rule, the challenge owners take the results of the hackdays back with them and use them internally for further development > Sense and added value of open innovation.

As a partner, you gain visibility in a dynamic innovation environment, strengthen your network, access emerging talent, and engage directly with thought leaders, developers, and researchers. Your brand, data, or challenge will be at the center of a hands-on, high-energy event.

We offer several ways to get involved:

• Main / Sponsoring Partner – financial support with strong brand exposure
• Challenge Owner – submit a real-world problem to be solved at the event
• Data Partner – provide datasets to support data-driven innovation
• University / Research Partner – involve students and researchers in applied challenges

Custom partnerships are also possible – we’re happy to discuss options with you!

Depending on your level of involvement, you’ll benefit from exposure via:

• Website & event platform
• Online & print communication
• On-site branding and signage
• Final pitch presentations
• Social media and press coverage

You’ll get in connect with:

• Developers, UX/UI designers, data scientists
• Students and researchers (especially STEM fields)
• Energy providers, startups, public agencies, and tech companies
• Professionals in innovation, IT, and sustainability

Absolutely! Many of our partners come from the public or academic sector. We’re happy to support you in crafting a challenge or integrating your institution into the event.

The Hackdays usually run for two days. You’ll present your challenge on day one, support the team with questions during development, and attend the final project presentations on day two. Our team will guide you through the whole process.

Absolutely! We encourage anyone with a relevant idea to submit a challenge.

That said, priority is given to challenges submitted by our partners and sponsors.
If you’re not affiliated, your submission will still be considered – but we can’t promise inclusion in the final lineup.

You can submit your challenge using our online form – it’s quick and easy.
We’ve put together a step-by-step guide to help you through the process.

👉 Click here to view the submission guide

Please note: submitting a challenge does not guarantee inclusion in the final event unless you are an official sponsor or partner.