Re:Shape the City is an idea competition organized by the city of Debrecen and the Innovation Ecosystem Center of the University of Debrecen on how the collaboration of creative industries, culture, and technology can make a city even more vibrant and how it can create communities and provide community experiences. Develop innovative ideas on February 25-26 and impress the jury with your concepts! REGISTRATION is CLOSED
Why should you apply?
- 1st Prize: Turn your ideas into reality with the support of the city of Debrecen. Inspirational award: Win a trip to the Košice Art and Tech Days.
- Networking & Mentoring: Connect with like-minded students while experienced mentors are helping to turn your ideas into real-world solutions.
- No experience required: You don’t need prior knowledge of creative industry—just a passion for the field! Aspects of the pitch - a guidance for your work
Challenges (a team is working on one solution during the hackathon, addressing a problem raised in one of the challenges)
- 2100: The City That Endures: This challenge invites participants to imagine a future urban vision for Debrecen unconstrained by current technologies or trends, focusing instead on fundamental human needs, spatial principles, and long-term societal values. The goal is not to predict the future, but to explore what kind of city should exist – and why – using creativity, critical thinking, and architectural imagination as the primary tools. The goal is a desirable and workable future – a city people choose to inhabit.
- The community hub – Reimagining and CULTivating venues or urban spaces: This challenge invites participants to reimagine and cultivate existing buildings or urban sites as inclusive, future-ready spaces that foster community life, creativity, and social exchange. Using preliminary information on the selected sites, participants may develop architectural and spatial concepts that support cultural activity, creative industries, everyday civic interaction and strengthen local identity. Transformation of venues into living hubs that respond to contemporary social needs and evolving urban communities.
- Culture Meets Tech – Building Hybrid Creative Solutions: This challenge invites builders, makers, and creative technologists to explore how culture, creativity, and technology can merge into hybrid physical–digital experiences that address real-world challenges. Participants are encouraged to develop interactive concepts that combine storytelling, design, and emerging technologies to create meaningful engagement across industries and communities. Focus areas include:
- Creative industry toolsets for cross-sector innovation: applying design, art, and creative methodologies to solve challenges in other fields (e.g. technology, sustainability, education, tourism, urban development).
- AI as part of the game: using artificial intelligence not as a hidden tool, but as a visible, interactive, or co-creative element within cultural and public experiences.
- Hybrid displays and installations: designing experiences that exist simultaneously in physical and digital space — from installations and interactive maps to themed events — where sustainable, low-impact materials are enhanced by compelling digital or technological layers
- Engaging Stakeholders for Lasting Urban Value: This challenge invites participants to design strategies and related tools that transform short-term events into long-term urban ecosystems by actively engaging key stakeholders: moving beyond one-off activation toward resilient, long-term urban impact. The focus is on creating sustainable, mutually beneficial models where public institutions, creative industries, businesses, and community actors contribute lasting services, spaces, or programs to the city. Participants are encouraged to explore how stakeholder collaboration can generate continuous social, cultural, and economic value for local communities.
Event details:
• Date & Venue: 25-26th February, 2026, Debrecen, UD Innovation Center (Vezér Street 37.) & MODEM
• Application deadline: 23rd February, 2026
Who can apply? REGISTRATION is CLOSED
We welcome university students from any field. Only teams can enter the competition, so we are looking for teams of 2-4 people, preferably with interdisciplinary background. Every team member must register. If you are not part of a team at the registration, we will help you find a team on site.
