On June 11, 2026, at EXPO XXI in Warsaw, the final of the international HerTechVenture hackathon took place as part of the Perspektywy Women in Tech Summit, Europe's largest technology conference for women. Multidisciplinary teams from Poland, Portugal, Italy, Spain, and Greece competed in the event.
HerTechVenture is a European Union co-funded initiative operating in five European countries, aimed at supporting female STEM students on their path toward technology entrepreneurship. The lead partner is the Perspektywy Educational Foundation. The project has been running since 2024. The Summit hackathon served as a culmination of the entrepreneurial skills developed by project participants (representatives from each of the five universities had previously been selected through local hackathons).
The teams presented their original ideas during a pitching session:
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SilverTech from the University of Salamanca (Spain), which developed Mavi, an AI assistant for seniors.
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LUNARIX from the University of Gdańsk (Poland), with an application designed for women experiencing hormonal disorders.
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A team from the University of Brescia (Italy) with HotToGo, an intergenerational platform connecting seniors and pregnant women with volunteers (young women) offering assistance.
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QORA from the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki (Greece), presenting a SaaS system for restaurants designed to address slow service during peak hours and reduce operational errors.
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EndoPatch from the Polytechnic Institute of Guarda (Portugal), introducing a microneedle patch for the treatment of endometriosis.
After intense deliberations, the jury (Elżbieta Jurkowska-Karpińska, Dominika Duda, Dota Szymborska, Maryla Wojcieszek, Joanna Fedorowicz, Damian Szalewicz, Zuzanna Kowala, and Alicja Świtlik) selected the Spanish team SilverTech from the University of Salamanca as the winner for its project Mavi, an AI assistant for seniors.
Mavi is an AI tool designed for older adults for whom the digital world still presents significant barriers. According to its creators, the idea emerged only during the national hackathon in Zamora:
“At the beginning, we had absolutely no idea for a project, but we had a great multidisciplinary team and worked very hard,”
say Siria Valenzuela Arvizu and Marcela Hernandez Toro.
The story behind Mavi is deeply personal:
“A few weeks before the hackathon, we visited an elderly friend and learned embroidery from her. When we arrived in Zamora for the hackathon, we thought: what if we created something with her in mind? She was our inspiration.”
Poland was represented by LUNARIX from the University of Gdańsk, whose application supports women dealing with hormonal disorders. The idea originated from a simple observation that no similar solution existed on the market:
“We noticed there was a real need for it because we didn’t know of any similar app ourselves. Doctor visits can also be challenging—you don’t always know what to say. The app remembers everything, so we come to the doctor with data, not impressions,”
explains Maja Markiewicz.
The team's greatest challenge was medical research:
“Reviewing medical documentation is very time-consuming, and it must be done with great precision. We wanted the app to be reliable,”
the team members explain.
The team also integrated wearable devices such as the Oura Ring into the solution.
Italy was represented by HotToGo from the University of Brescia, an intergenerational platform connecting seniors and pregnant women with young women willing to help with everyday tasks. As team members Giulia Zanola and Ludovica Parodi explain, the idea was inspired by real life:
“I called my grandmother, and she told me she felt lonely. It really moved me. At the same time, as students, we still don’t have the opportunity to be financially independent. HotToGo is an attempt to address both issues at once—the human one and the economic one.”
The entire project was created within 24 hours, while the following weeks were dedicated to refining its most challenging aspects: safety and designing an application suitable for older adults, for whom using a smartphone can itself be difficult.
Work within the team was naturally divided according to individual competencies. The most important lesson from the project was teamwork:
“At first, it was challenging to divide tasks without getting in each other’s way. But eventually, we found our rhythm.”
The Summit itself left a strong impression on the HotToGo team:
“There are so many opportunities here. Everyone wants to talk, inspire people, and collaborate. It’s a very welcoming atmosphere.”
Agnieszka Cichocka summarized the perspective of both the jury and the organizers:
“The ideas presented at the hackathon are still at a very early stage, but the value of the project lies in how it stimulates creativity and entrepreneurship. The hackathon was evaluated by a jury composed of professionals from business and startup acceleration, who provided both positive and highly constructive feedback, much like what established startups receive when pitching their projects. The jury faced a difficult task because all the problems addressed by the teams are important. What matters now is what happens next—whether the teams will continue developing their ideas.”
The winning team received ten hours of business mentoring, and initial discussions about further cooperation had already begun on June 11.
Julia Przeździk, Katarzyna Syguła
About HerTechVenture
HerTechVenture is an international initiative launched in December 2023 and running until November 2026. Its goal is to increase women’s participation in technology and technology entrepreneurship. The initiative achieves this by empowering female STEM students, training university educators, and helping transform universities into more gender-inclusive institutions that foster supportive higher education ecosystems, combat gender stereotypes, and encourage women to pursue careers in technology as innovators and entrepreneurs across Europe.
The project brings together five universities:
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Polytechnic Institute of Guarda (Portugal)
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Polytechnic University of Turin (Italy)
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University of Salamanca (Spain)
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University of Macedonia (Greece)
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University of Gdańsk (Poland)
and expert organizations including the Perspektywy Educational Foundation, Inova+, and Stimmuli for social change.
The project develops the skills, confidence, and opportunities female students need to launch careers in the technology sector. Activities include gender-sensitive training for university staff, entrepreneurship courses for female students (the HerTechVenture Academy), mentoring, and innovation-focused initiatives.
More information: https://www.hertechventure.eu/
