Hackathon for Jena's digital future

How can digital technologies make life in cities more liveable, sustainable and efficient? What solutions emerge when administration, science, business and creative minds work together on specific challenges? "Hack the paradise!", the smart city hackathon on June 12 and 13, 2026 at JEDI - Jena Digital Innovation Hub, will address these questions. Registration for the event is already underway.

With the two-day format, the city of Jena wants to bring together people with different perspectives, experiences and skills. The aim is to jointly develop ideas for the digital city of tomorrow - in a practical, creative and open exchange.

"Many of the issues that affect our city cannot be solved in the town hall alone. That's why we deliberately focus on exchanging ideas with the people who research, develop, found and take responsibility in Jena. The hackathon brings this knowledge and creativity together. It shows how new technologies and different perspectives can lead to concrete solutions for municipal challenges. For us, this is an important component of our smart city strategy: not only promoting innovation, but also making it usable for the further development of our city," emphasizes Mayor and Head of Digitalization Benjamin Koppe.

Exchange, ideas and joint development

The Smart City Forum will kick off on Friday, June 12, 2026, starting at 5:00 pm. Participants will gain insights into current smart city topics and learn about the challenges being worked on as part of the hackathon. The subsequent networking session will focus on getting to know each other and team building.

On Saturday, June 13, 2026, the teams will work together from 10:00 a.m. to develop initial solutions and prototypes. They will be supported by mentors from various specialist areas.

The tasks come from different areas of urban society: they range from data-based applications and intelligent infrastructure to digital platform solutions. Together with partners from administration, science and business, the aim is to generate new impetus for digital urban development.

For Dorothea Prell, Smart City Officer for the City of Jena, the format shows how important open innovation processes are for urban development: "Smart City is not just about technology. Above all, it's about thinking about urban development together and actively integrating digital skills. With the hackathon, we are creating an open participation format for everyone who wants to contribute their ideas, technical expertise and creativity to the future of Jena. The diversity of perspectives is particularly exciting - from development and data analysis to design, conception and application."

Added value for the participants

In addition to working on specific problems from administration, business and science, "Hack the paradise!" offers the opportunity to gain practical experience, get to know new methods and make valuable contacts. It is aimed at students, developers, designers, creatives and anyone interested in developing innovative ideas together.

"It is always impressive to see how concrete solutions emerge from initial ideas within a very short space of time," explains Domenique Dölz, sub-project manager of Smart City Jena, "This is precisely the strength of the hackathon: people with very different skills work together on future topics in a creative, practical and solution-oriented way. It goes without saying that people can code, develop and also prompt together."

No special prior knowledge is required. The focus is on curiosity, team spirit and the willingness to develop creative solutions together.

Registration already open

Registration for "Hack the paradise!" is already open. Interested parties can now register for the hackathon.
With this format, the city of Jena and its partners want to set a strong example for open innovation, digital participation and interdisciplinary collaboration - and show how ideas can be turned into concrete solutions for the future.

Drei Personen schauen freundlich in die Kamera.

Teilprojektleiter Domenique Dölz (rechts), Smart-City-Projektmanagerin Vanessa Huber und Bürgermeister Benjamin Koppe laden zum Smart-City-Hackathon „Hack the paradise!“ ein.