HackForGood, established as one of the largest hackathons in the country due to the high number of entrants, was a meeting point for students from different disciplines, who worked in teams to create technological solutions with a social purpose and build a more inclusive and digital environment under the motto Let’s imagine a more sustainable world.
From 14 to 16 March 2024, over 1,000 young people from 25 Spanish universities and 42 campuses met at the event, organised by the Telefónica Chair Network, the Polytechnic University of Madrid and the Hazloposible Foundation. The Pontifical University of Salamanca (UPSA) acted as the host for the local competition, organised in partnership with the University of Salamanca (USAL) and ProFuturo. The initiative was one of the activities that Telefónica is carrying out to celebrate its Centenary.
The competition consists of three levels: local (with winners at each venue), national (with winners from across the country) and a final, which takes place a few months later, when the three winning teams compete with the first winning team from each venue or city. The prize money for all the categories totals €50,000.
ProFuturo was actively involved in supervising the projects and it formed part of the jury. These events highlight the transformational potential of education, technology and innovation in the building of a better world. This year the proposals featured numerous tools, such as artificial intelligence (AI), to expand the scope of the projects. The event is becoming more and more interesting year by year!
Winners 9th edition
First place went to the UPSA’s Daily Dose team, made up of Computer Engineering students Álvaro Rollón, Miguel Ángel Pérez, Ernesto García and Almar Ramos. They proposed a solution for elderly people with Alzheimer’s disease to enable them to take their medicines intuitively. The project, worth 1,000 euros, makes it easier to manage medicines with a smart pillbox, which can load drugs via a health card, perform monitoring with medical specialists and schedule personalised reminders. This team also won the prize for the “Best social project”, awarded by the Asprodes Plena Inclusión Castilla y León Association and presented by its president, Inmaculada Lorenzo Martín.
The UPSA’s Daily Dose team
The jury awarded second place to the Tissue Genix team made up of USAL Biotechnology students Greta Sofía Vielma and Cristian Sotelo. The project focuses on the use of 3D modelling and printing in regenerative medicine, specifically tissue engineering. It concentrates on the production of a PLA matrix appropriately treated with biomaterials that allow cell adhesion and growth for tissue regeneration. The team also won a prize worth 1,000 euros and the award for “Best Innovation Project”, presented by the Councillor for Economic Development, Pedro José Martínez Córdoba, on behalf of Salamanca City Council.
The UPSA’s Tissue Genix team
Third place went to the Mamograph IA project of Iván Zheng Fu and Carlos Bustos, which uses Deep Learning technologies in a database of 3,000 mammograms and, thanks to the patterns produced by artificial intelligence, performs early diagnoses of breast cancer.
Mamograph IA project
The other projects submitted by the UPSA and USAL teams included the MiPark application (4th place), which improves urban parking, Build Up (5th place), an application that connects construction companies with social entities to make the most of surplus construction materials, the IA Para Aprender project, focused on the automated return of library material, and Remember, a smart agenda for people unfamiliar with technology.
MiPark project
HackForGood constitutes not only a competition, but also a true catalyst, encouraging the participants to use their creativity and knowledge for the benefit of society. As the event continues to evolve and attract more talented students, we can see a promising future in which education, technology and innovation become powerful tools when it comes to addressing the challenges of the 21st century.
At ProFuturo we promote and support this collective commitment to a more inclusive, sustainable and digital world! Are you ready to take part in the next event in 2026?
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