Digital Challenge project in real world. Mixed teams. Real challenges. Real experience. Mixed teams of Digital Challenge high school students competed at the professional-level HackTM, side by side with IT professionals.
Following the successful Digital Challenge final event in Belgrade this March, the next step felt completely natural — stepping into a real international environment and facing real industry-level challenges.
That next step happened at HackTM, held on May 14–15 in Timișoara.
Some of the students who participated in the Erasmus+ Digital Challenge program competed in mixed teams together with partners and mentors from Mathematical Grammar School, Liceul Teoretic Grigore Moisil, Regional Center for talents “Mihajlo Pupin”, Asociatia One Source and CoderDojo programs.
What makes this story special is that the project is now moving beyond its original framework.
Digital Challenge is no longer just an educational program — it is becoming a platform that prepares students for real international collaboration, teamwork, and professional environments.
From the classroom to the international tech community
That is why it is extremely important to step outside the standard Erasmus+ project framework and create opportunities for students to “live test” their knowledge and skills in completely different environments. In this way, the project gains additional value through real international dissemination, where results are no longer limited to reports and documentation, but become visible and validated through practice and real-world experience.
At HackTM, students were not solving “school assignments.”
They worked side by side with experienced developers, designers, and innovators in a professional-level hackathon environment.
Over two intense days, they went through the complete innovation cycle:
from idea → to prototype → to presenting in front of a live audience and jury.
But what they are taking home matters even more:
– how to navigate real challenges
– how to build and function within diverse teams
– how to communicate ideas and present with confidence in front of larger audiences
This is where the true value of international cooperation and inclusion becomes visible. Diversity within the teams was not a barrier — it became a strength that led to better ideas, stronger collaboration, and more creative solutions.
Partnerships shaping future opportunities
During the stay in Timișoara, another important step toward future cooperation and regional ecosystem development was made — a Memorandum of Understanding was officially signed with BanatIT, the organizers of the HackTM hackathon.
This activity itself was realized in cooperation with BanatIT, further strengthening the shared vision of connecting young talent, education, technology communities, and international partnerships across the region.
Another important part of the weekend was participation in the international Tech Talks conference, realized through the cooperation with Politehnica University of Timișoara, following previous mutual visits of university representatives, Faculty of automation and computing and Faculty of Organizational Sciences and the already signed Memorandum of Understanding, which opens additional opportunities for future academic and international cooperation.
Education for the 21st century
What we witnessed in Timișoara was not just participation in a hackathon.
It was a clear shift in confidence, ambition, and readiness to step into a much bigger world of technology and innovation.
And maybe the most important thing of all:
👉 „We want more.“
That is exactly what the Digital Challenge project is meant to achieve — creating a complete educational ecosystem that connects schools, universities, mentors, international partners, and the real IT community.
This approach is no longer just an addition to education.
It is education for the 21st century.
And this is only the beginning.
