{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,9]],"date-time":"2026-07-09T15:37:08Z","timestamp":1783611428970,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,12]],"date-time":"2025-06-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1749686400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Information"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Hackathon events have become increasingly popular in recent years as a modern tool for innovation in the education sector as they offer important learning advantages. Within the \u201cINVITE\u201d Erasmus+ project, four distinct hackathons were organized to bring together academic institutions, teachers, and students in the design of innovative international virtual and blended collaborations. In addition, as part of the \u201cINVITE\u201d project, an Open Interactive Digital Ecosystem (digital platform) has been developed to facilitate hackathons organization and was tested within two of the events. This platform can enhance hosting action-training programs providing a shared open resources space for educators to contact peers and design projects. All four hackathons were held during 2024 and their duration and type (onsite, blended, hybrid, and online) varied significantly. However, all hackathon topics were related to sustainability, SDGs, and Green Agenda. In total, more than 220 participants enrolled in the four events, including students, researchers, and professors from different disciplines, age groups, and countries. All participants were provided with qualitative surveys to explore their satisfaction and experiences. The results compare different hackathon setups to reveal valuable insights regarding the optimal design for higher education hackathons.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/info16060488","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,12]],"date-time":"2025-06-12T06:42:48Z","timestamp":1749710568000},"page":"488","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Driving International Collaboration Beyond Boundaries Through Hackathons: A Comparative Analysis of Four Hackathon Setups"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9947-5580","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alice","family":"Barana","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, University of Turin, 10126 Torino, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5711-5405","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vasiliki Eirini","family":"Chatzea","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-9077-287X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kelly","family":"Henao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Columbus Association, 75015 Paris, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ania Maria","family":"Hildebrandt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Architecture, Design and Media Technology, Aalborg University, 2450 Copenhagen, Denmark"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6660-1891","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ilias","family":"Logothetis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1007-5404","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marina","family":"Marchisio Conte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, University of Turin, 10126 Torino, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alexandros","family":"Papadakis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alberto","family":"Rueda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Columbus Association, 75015 Paris, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daniel","family":"Samoilovich","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Columbus Association, 75015 Paris, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0495-777X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Georgios","family":"Triantafyllidis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Architecture, Design and Media Technology, Aalborg University, 2450 Copenhagen, Denmark"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0726-8627","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nikolas","family":"Vidakis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"133406","DOI":"10.1109\/ACCESS.2024.3455092","article-title":"The Future of Hackathon Research and Practice","volume":"12","author":"Falk","year":"2024","journal-title":"IEEE Access"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100501","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jik.2024.100501","article-title":"Academic performance indicators for the hackathon learning approach\u2014The case of the blockchain hackathon","volume":"9","author":"Labus","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. 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