GROWTH HACKATHON 2025

EVENT REPORT: GROWTH HACKHATON 2025

📌 Organizer: Bijeljina University

📅 Location: Campus Bijeljina University

🎯 Topic: Sustainable development, digital transformation and student life

📝 Applications and preparations

Applications for the GROWTH HACKATHON 2025 were open from May 23 to 27. The interest was extremely high, and several teams from different study programs applied, gathered around a common idea, creating more sustainable solutions for the campus and the wider community.

🎓 Educational day

The day after the closing of applications, on May 28, an education was held for all participants at the University of Bijeljina, as a preparation for the competition.

The participants were formally greeted by prof. dr Boro Krstić, director of the University, emphasizing the importance of such events for the development of students’ creativity and practical skills.

Then Đorđe Baletić, senior assistant at the Faculty of Pharmacy and head of the department for marketing and public relations, explained in detail the propositions of the competition, the rules, the evaluation criteria and the course of the event itself.

Special value was given to the educational part by prof. dr Bojan Damnjanović, who held an inspiring and informative lecture on the topic of ecology and environmental protection. His presentation on the challenges of the contemporary environmental context further motivated the participants to approach the task with seriousness and passion.

📍 Introducing the teams – Meet the Team

Preparations for GROWTH HACKHATON 2025 began with great excitement. During the promotional campaign on social networks, all registered teams were presented through the “Meet the Team” series, which caused great attention and audience engagement.

Each team was represented through posts that highlighted their members, ideas and missions, alongside carefully crafted visuals and descriptions. This campaign further generated interest in the event itself, and the posts had excellent reach and interaction.

Teams represented:

• EkoLogično – Pavle, Ana and Dejana, with a vision of a green and healthy campus.
• EkoDame – a team of determined girls with the aim of improving student life with functionality and innovation.
• EkoVizija – a combination of sustainability, education and practical solutions for everyday life.
• BioBudućnost – a team of first year girls with a clear mission: more greenery, less waste.
• EkoFarm – a trio of pharmacists with a sophisticated idea about smart seedlings and a digital ecological platform.

🎥 Media promotion

The event was followed by a TV report, broadcast by local media and available on the YouTube channel of the University of Bijeljina, as well as on the University’s social networks.

📺 Watch the video:

🔗 Bijeljina University in an innovative and creative mission

📊 Impressive digital results

During the GROWTH HACKHATON 2025 week (May 25-31), an impressive digital performance was achieved:

• 📈 73,923 views of posts
• 👥 3,564 profile visits

These numbers clearly testify to the high interest, the strong digital campaign and the growing importance of social networks in the promotion of student initiatives.

📆 Course of the competition

The competition lasted from May 29 to 31, and during that period the teams worked on developing and shaping their ideas with the support of mentors and organizers.

On May 31, the final presentation of ideas was held, during which the teams presented their projects to the expert jury. After the presentations, the announcement of the winners followed, which was marked by enthusiasm, emotions and applause.

🏆 COMPETITION RESULTS

🥇 FIRST PRIZE: Botanical corner

Team: Hristijana, Vanja and Andjela

Project: multifunctional Botanical corner – a space that combines nature, design and education.

Special recognition: Andjela – awarded with a trip to Cyprus for exceptional engagement and Hristijana and Vanja won a prize 600 KM, divided on a half.

🥈 SECOND PRIZE: Green step

Team: Ekologično (Pavle, Ana and Dejana)

Smart paths that convert kinetic energy into electricity – a combination of technology and ecology. Team won a a prize of 300 KM.

🥉 THIRD PRIZE: Eco boards

Team: Milica Baković, Milica Stankić and Nataša Ilić

A solution that combines ecology, creativity and sustainable learning. Team won a a prize of 210 KM.

🌐 MEDIA GROWTH HACKATHON 2025

🏅 Online champions: EkoFarm (Sladjana, Marko and Jovan)

With more than 1,000 likes and almost 15,000 views, EkoFarm became a crowd favorite and showed the power of digital influence.

💬 Conclusion

GROWTH HACKATHON 2025 was much more than a student competition, it was a space for visions, changes and connections. From applications and education, through intensive work on ideas, to final presentations and awards, every step of this process showed how much young people can do when they have space and support.

This event laid the foundations for new initiatives and opened the door to an even stronger community of young innovators and leaders of sustainable development.