In 2020 we launched the first ever Hack4Change with over 600 students working together to find solutions for some of society’s biggest challenges.

In 2021 we’re doing it virtually!

We will be using the platform GatherTown to focus on three extremely important themes:

Climate – including sustainability, fast fashion, smarter travel and more.
Equality – diversity & inclusivity, wealth & housing inequity, global challenges, discrimination.
Mental Health and Wellbeing – including post-covid living, cyberbullying and more.
This event will be attended by over 600 students of the Learning Innovation for Enterprise or LIFE 1st year module, as well as over 80 industry guests acting as speakers, mentors and competition judges.

During the week, students will attend live talks from expert speakers, receive mentoring, and engage in both fun and formal activities. Teams will develop viable social enterprise ideas based on the themes above, and pitch their concepts to judges at the end of the week.

We will be using the platform GatherTown to host our Hackathon event this year. GatherTown is a virtual world where video-calling is combined with a 2D map, letting you walk around and talk to the other people right next to you. On this platform multiple people can hold separate conversations in parallel, walking in and out of those conversations just as easily as they would in real life.

Hack4Change is using this platform so that students can attend different speakers, meet with their mentors, as well as have the opportunity to enjoy a chat with their friends in the park or on the beach.

Participation is open to all DCU students. The Hackathon also forms a core part of the Business School LIFE course.