HACKATHON: Virtual Innovation in Action

Dear Students,

As part of the Virtual Reality course, a hackathon is being organized that will also serve as an exam for students enrolled in the course. However, the hackathon is also open to other students from FINK who are not enrolled in the course but have an interest in and knowledge of virtual reality application development.

Date of holding: June 28, 2025, starting at 9:00 AM

Location: FINKI (the room will be highlighted separately)

Duration: 4 hours + presentation of the developed applications

Hackathon Goal

Development of a virtual reality application that simulates a virtual environment on one of the listed topics: 

1. „Timeline of Science“ – The user goes through key scientific discoveries (discovery of DNA, the first flight, etc.) – with interactive elements.

2. „Evolution of Knowledge“ – The user travels through a symbolically designed museum where each room represents a scientific paradigm.

3. “Abstract Worlds: Visualization of Emotions" – Users have the opportunity to explore abstract concepts such as memory, fear, sadness, curiosity, etc., in VR (for example: the world of fear, the world of curiosity, …). 

The exact topic will be given during the hackathon.

Technical guidelines

The target platform is a mobile device with a 3D Box, Oculus Quest (or another agreed upon by the teachers). The use of Unity, Unreal Engine, or Godot is recommended. 

Various available resources can be used, but they must be listed. 

During the hackathon, you can bring your own computer and/or virtual reality device, or you can work on the computers in the FINKI labs and use the devices we have available.

The teams should present.

• short demo of the application,

• Description of the functionalities,

• originality of the application,

• technical approach.

Rules for forming teams

• Teams should consist of no more than 4 members, but you can also work as an individual.

• All team members must be students at FINKI.

• The team can be composed of:

  • only from students enrolled in the Virtual Reality course or

  • only from FINKY students who are not taking the course.

• Combining students from both categories into one team It is not allowed.

Registration

Each team must register by the end of the day on June 24, 2025, at this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfQD1Yj6dnMAnzjIeFTd8vn299zQ3OoGR3g1cybjTFPpxXPtg/viewform?usp=header.

Evaluation

Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• innovation,

• user experience in VR,

• technical stability,

• educational value,

• Completeness of the developed application.

Important recommendation:
It is recommended that before you sign up for the survey, you create a minimal test application on the platform you plan to use for development and on the intended target platform, to ensure it works properly and that you can use it during the hackathon.

The members of the winning application team will receive a suitable award. 

The hackathon is organized by FINKI and will also be supported by the ICT-ACT Association and IEEE.

This is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate your acquired knowledge, collaborate in a team, and express yourself creatively through the technology of the future.

From the responsible parties of the Virtual Reality project

Professor Dr. Suzana Loshkovska

Associate Professor Dr. Katarina Troyanets Dineva