NextTechTalents team was present at the hackathon Hack the Future

The hackathon HackTheFuture: Smart.Safe.Secure was held in Cluj-Napoca on 29-30 September 2025 and provides an example of how a hands-on and collaborative event in higher education can contribute to career growth.

The event was organized by Cluj IT Cluster in partnership with the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca of students from institutions across the country.

With its focus on cybersecurity under the slogan “Smart. Safe. Secure.”, participants practiced what they learned about emerging technologies, real-world problem solving, and digital-safety mind-sets (‘Hack The Future | Smart. Safe. Secure’, n.d.). Thus, Cluj IT Cluster promoted a network-driven learning experience for young learners while connecting them with different actors from academia and the tech industry.

About the event

Teams chose from a set of technical challenge tracks—Cyber Edu Box, PiForensics, PiHoneypot, IoT Defender, PiCompliance—each addressing different dimensions of digital security: device protection, compliance, post-incident analysis, IoT resilience. This diversity ensured that participants were exposed to multiple technical domains and encouraged multidisciplinary thinking. This quality is essential for career development and applying the theoretical framework into practical skills at work, this being a proof that hackathons encourage early practice of essential work skills (Horton et al. 2018).

The teams submitted prototypes or demos in front of a jury made up of experts in the field. A particularly noteworthy outcome was that a team composed of high-school students secured the first place—illustrating that innovation and technical skills are not limited by university enrolment or age. This finding underscores the value of early engagement in practical projects that create a space for trial and error, thus creating an ability to further learn and innovate.

Added value to the learning experience

Mentorship played a central role in the hackathon experience: each team was guided by mentors specialising in domains such as cybersecurity, technical development, business strategy, and communication. This blend of technical and soft-skill coaching reflects the holistic approach of the European Unions in initiatives that promote research and upskilling (‘European Skills Agenda – Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion’ 2025).

Scholars note that hackathons create unique environments where rapid knowledge application, peer learning, mentoring, and professional feedback come together to strengthen participants’ confidence, skill development, and long-term career prospects. For instance, a systematic review found that hackathons contribute to both technical and soft skill enhancement while offering richer networking opportunities than traditional classroom settings (Oyetade et al. 2022). Another study found that educational hackathons increased students’ self-efficacy in entrepreneurial domains more significantly than conventional entrepreneurship classes (Szymanska et al. 2020).

The event granted participants practical experiential learning in a compressed time frame. Prior research observes that hackathons, by simulating real innovation cycles, enable students to adopt roles like industry practitioners and accelerate their readiness for complex technical careers (Horton et al. 2018).

Beyond immediate skill development, the hackathon facilitated network-building and visibility. Participants forged connections with mentors, industry representatives and peers, forming professional relationships and networks that often extend beyond the event itself. Such networks are critical in promoting career mobility, cross-sector collaboration and job-market visibility. These kinds of events also give participants the opportunity to exercise soft skills, such as working in teams, exercising project management and public speaking (Horton et al. 2018).

Conclusion

In conclusion, Hack The Future exemplifies the type of practical, inclusive, interdisciplinary, network-driven learning experience that the NextTechTalents initiative seeks to promote. With its emphasis on cybersecurity, applied prototyping, mentorship, and early-stage engagement of learners, the hackathon contributes substantially to building a resilient pipeline of skilled deep-tech professionals aligned with Europe’s innovation and technology goals (‘Research and Innovation – EU Action | European Union’, n.d.)

Its outcomes highlight the importance of experiential learning settings in fostering innovation mindsets, advancing technical skills and supporting long-term career development within the European deep-tech ecosystem.

Sources

‘European Skills Agenda – Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion’. https://employment-social-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies-and-activities/skills-and-qualifications/european-skills-agenda_en.

‘Hack The Future | Smart. Safe. Secure’. n.d. https://www.hack-thefuture.com/.

Horton, Paul Alexander, Shawn S. Jordan, Steven Weiner, and Micah Lande. 2018. ‘Project-Based Learning Among Engineering Students During Short-Form Hackathon Events’. Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition. June 23. https://peer.asee.org/project-based-learning-among-engineering-students-during-short-form-hackathon-events.

Oyetade, Kayode, Tranos Zuva, and Anneke Harmse. 2022. ‘Educational Benefits of Hackathon: A Systematic Literature Review’. World Journal on Educational Technology: Current Issues 14 (6): 1668–84. https://doi.org/10.18844/wjet.v14i6.7131.

‘Research and Innovation – EU Action | European Union’. n.d. Accessed 7 November 2025. https://european-union.europa.eu/priorities-and-actions/actions-topic/research-and-innovation_en.

Szymanska, Izabela, Tom Sesti, Hali Motley, and George Puia. 2020. ‘The Effects of Hackathons on the Entrepreneurial Skillset and Perceived Self-Efficacy as Factors Shaping Entrepreneurial Intentions’. Administrative Sciences 10 (3): 73. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci10030073.