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Hackathon “ReThink Recycling”

Smart ideas for a sustainable future

From 13 to 16 May 2025, the Werner-von-Siemens Centre for Industry and Science e.V. in Berlin was transformed into a creative hotspot for innovation, team spirit and sustainable technology. The hackathon ‘ReThink Recycling – Smart ideas for a sustainable future’, powered by Siemens Professional Education and the Werner-von-Siemens Centre, was a complete success!

 

Two challenges – one mission: rethinking sustainability

In two intensive challenges, the participants tackled highly topical industrial issues:

Detect & Deactivate Batteries in Waste Streams: How can batteries in waste streams be detected and deactivated before they cause damage?

Smart Sorting for a Circular Future: How can intelligent sorting be further developed to enable sustainable value chains in various industries?

The result? Impressive!

In just four days – including two intensive hacking days – the interdisciplinary teams developed highly innovative approaches. The quality of the results was impressive, both technically and conceptually. The strong team spirit was particularly impressive: many of the participants did not know each other beforehand and quickly grew together to form dynamic teams.

 

Pitch day as the crowning finale

The final day was a real highlight: in professional pitches, the teams presented their solutions to a high-calibre jury of representatives from Siemens, AWS and other experts. The ideas were not only creative, but also promising enough to potentially be developed further.

What did the participants take away?

  • New contacts with experts from a wide range of industries
  • Intensive training in design thinking & pitching
  • Goodie bags, career inspiration and potential entry opportunities
  • The chance to win a wildcard for the ‘Pitch me!’ event in Berlin
  • And above all: lots of inspiration and team spirit!

 

A huge thank you to everyone involved!

This hackathon has shown what is possible when young talents, experienced professionals and industrial challenges come together. We are already looking forward to the next edition – until then: stay curious, rethink and innovate!

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