Challenges

Caritas Würzburg [Platinum Partner]

Our NGO, the Caritasverband für die Diözese Würzburg e. V. , is looking for philanthropy-minded companies in the Lower Franconia region of Germany that share our values and have an interest in supporting our fields of work financially.

The challenge 
is to develop a prototype of an AI-powered tool that helps us identify and filter potential corporate partners. The tool should analyze relevant information about companies – such as their values, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, philanthropic interests, regional ties and previous engagement – and identify those that are a particularly good fit for our NGO.
The goal is a practical prototype that can answer one key question: Which companies should we approach – and why are they a good match for us?

Challenge Video & Data

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOTjKrxPtSE 

Caritas Würzburg [Platinum Partner]

Our NGO, the Caritasverband für die Diözese Würzburg e. V., is the umbrella organization of a diverse network of Caritas providers and services across the Lower Franconia region of Germany. Due to this subsidiarity-based structure, people seeking help often struggle to understand which local organization, counseling center, or specialized service is responsible for their particular situation.

The challenge 
is to develop a prototype of an AI-powered voice assistant that helps people navigate the regional Caritas support landscape. To make the solution as inclusive as possible, users should be able to describe their situation in simple, everyday language by speaking naturally rather than typing. The AI should be able to meet people where they are, understand unclear or unstructured requests, ask appropriate follow-up questions in plain language, and guide users to the most relevant Caritas service.
The goal is a practical prototype that can answer one key question:
“I need help. Which Caritas service can support me – and why is it the right place for my situation?”

Challenge Video & Data

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4oKQ5Ld7ZI 

Mainfränkische Werkstätten

The Challenge
How can we use AI and potentially robotics to provide employees with disabilities with easy-to-understand training, instructions, and personalized support directly at their workplace – anytime, with minimal barriers, and as independently as possible? Could robotics also help employees navigate workshop facilities and become more independent?

At Mainfränkische Werkstätten around 1,200 people with disabilities work in a variety of areas, including metalworking, cable assembly, printing, industrial assembly, and packaging.
Many of these jobs are carried out in large workshops and production halls. Employees regularly need brief instructions, explanations, or guidance directly at their workplace, whether it's about work processes, safety procedures, or finding their way around the building.
We are looking for AI-powered assistive solutions, potentially combined with robotics, that make this information easily accessible, understandable, and available on-site, enabling employees to use it as independently as possible.

The Goal
The goal is to develop an accessible AI- and/or robotics-based solution that supports employees directly at their workplace, helping them become more independent, stay safe, and participate more fully in their working environment.
The solution should ideally address the following areas:

• On-the-job support: Provide information and assistance exactly where and when employees need it.
• Easy-to-understand training and instructions: Explain work processes, safety rules, and new tasks in a clear, visual, and easy-to-follow way, with the option to repeat instructions whenever needed.
• Accessible communication: Present information in Easy Language, using pictograms and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) methods where appropriate.
• Voice interaction: Enable employees to ask questions using their voice and receive spoken answers.
• Personalized assistance: Adapt information and interactions to different language skills, cognitive abilities, and motor needs. 
• Navigation and everyday assistance: Help employees with simple questions, such as finding their way around the building, locating rooms, or identifying the right person to contact.
• Greater independence: Empower employees to find information and resolve simple questions or support needs on their own.
• Reducing staff workload: Use the assistive solution to handle recurring explanations and simple support requests, giving support staff more time for personal interaction. Could processes such as supplying workstations with materials also be improved or automated to free up more time for direct support?
• Practical prototype: Ideally, the hackathon should result in a working prototype that demonstrates how AI, potentially combined with a mobile robot equipped with a display, could provide this kind of assistance in a real workshop environment.

Specific Requirements
All proposed solutions must comply with GDPR and applicable data protection requirements.

Challenge Video & Data

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upku2esbb4Q

Data: https://cloud.thws.de/s/W4X8fi7TkyR8KKr 

Mainfränkische Werkstätten

The Challenge
How can we use AI to simplify documentation and reporting requirements at Mainfränkische Werkstätten, giving support staff more time to directly assist and empower people with disabilities – while ensuring data protection, professional quality, and human oversight?

At Mainfränkische Werkstätten, around 1,200 people with disabilities work in a variety of areas, including metalworking, cable assembly, printing, industrial assembly, and packaging. They receive personalized guidance, training, and support to help them participate fully in working life and society.
For every employee, support staff document conversations, observations, specific incidents, support measures, and individual progress. They also regularly prepare reports for public authorities, funding agencies, and other relevant organizations.

We are looking for AI-powered solutions that make this documentation process faster and easier – for example, through voice input, structured documentation drafts, automated summaries, or assistance with report writing – without replacing the professional judgment and decision-making of staff.

The Goal
The goal is to develop a practical AI-based solution that reduces the administrative workload for support staff and helps them document, evaluate, and continuously improve the support they provide.
The solution should ideally address the following areas:

• Saving time on documentation: Make it faster and easier to capture, organize, and prepare information for reports.
• Data privacy and security: Ensure that sensitive personal data is processed securely and in compliance with applicable data protection regulations.
• Supporting individual development and support planning: Use existing documentation to suggest possible next steps, support measures, or opportunities for personal and professional development.
• Better progress tracking: Make it easier to monitor, evaluate, and understand individual progress and achievement of goals over time.
• Improved knowledge management: Make better use of existing information, insights, and experience, ensuring that valuable knowledge is shared and accessible rather than remaining in individual documents or with specific staff members.

Specific Requirements
All proposed solutions must comply with GDPR and applicable data protection requirements.

Challenge Video & Data

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKt9y2zm2so

Data: https://cloud.thws.de/s/DfPEG8rpBpJJidF

Mainfränkische Werkstätten

The Challenge
How can we use an intuitive, AI-powered Android app to create clear, step-by-step visual work instructions (e.g., based on the TEACCH approach) that can be exported as PDFs and imported into Moodle – reducing the workload for training staff while helping learners complete tasks and develop their skills as independently as possible?

Caritas-Don Bosco GmbH in Würzburg is a non-profit educational organization jointly operated by the German Province of the Salesians of Don Bosco and the Caritas Association of the Diocese of Würzburg. It serves as a regional and supra-regional center for education and vocational training.

Vocational Training Center (BBW) Würzburg
The Vocational Training Center (Berufsbildungswerk, BBW) supports young people with additional learning and support needs as they prepare for working life. Its programs are designed for young people with mental health conditions, autism spectrum conditions, or specific learning support needs. A range of residential options provides personalized educational guidance and everyday support. The overall goal is to help young people develop meaningful career opportunities and personal prospects.

To carry out practical training tasks and work processes independently and accurately, many participants need highly structured, easy-to-follow instructions with clear text and visual guidance. Visual teaching methods such as TEACCH are particularly helpful for learners on the autism spectrum. Currently, creating these instructions takes a significant amount of time and effort. Training staff must manually take photos, transfer and format them, and add simple, easy-to-understand explanations.

We are looking for a mobile AI-powered instruction generator in the form of an Android app that allows staff to create work instructions directly at the training location.
The app should integrate photos, automatically generate clear and accessible step-by-step instructions, optionally connect tasks to relevant vocational curricula, and export the results both as print-ready PDFs in the organization's corporate design and as import packages for the Moodle learning platform.

The Goal
The goal is to develop a practical prototype of an intuitive, preferably Android-based application that helps vocational trainers and educational staff create high-quality, accessible work instructions.
The following features are particularly desirable:

1. AI-Powered Instruction Creation and Educational Structuring
Generate clear, step-by-step work instructions from photos, keywords, or existing documents.

• Automatically create simple, easy-to-understand instructions based on the TEACCH approach.
• Adapt language, length, and visual presentation to different learning abilities and individual support needs.
• Help select and organize suitable photos, symbols, and pictograms.

2. AI-Powered Alignment with Vocational Training Curricula

• Analyze which skills, competencies, and learning objectives from a vocational training curriculum are covered by a specific practical task.
• Connect hands-on work assignments with relevant theoretical content taught in vocational schools.
• Suggest additional explanations, technical terms, or simple comprehension questions.
• Provide transparent references to the curriculum content and sources used.

3. AI-Powered Quality Assurance

• Automatically review existing or newly created instructions based on defined professional and educational quality criteria.
• Check instructions for clarity, completeness, logical step-by-step sequences, and an appropriate level of complexity.
• Provide specific suggestions for improvement to help learners complete tasks as independently as possible.
• Allow training staff to review, edit, and approve all instructions before they are finalized.

4. Easy Content Creation and Export

• Capture and integrate photos directly at the workplace or training location.
• Automatically generate print-ready PDF documents that follow the organization's corporate design.
• Ideally, export content in a Moodle-compatible format (e.g., H5P, SCORM, or Moodle Lesson).

For the hackathon, the main priority is to develop and demonstrate the core AI features in a working prototype. A fully developed Android app, offline synchronization, and complete Moodle integration can be implemented in a later development phase if needed.

Specific Requirements

• Interfaces and Export: Seamless export to PDF and Moodle using standard import formats.
• Data Privacy and GDPR Compliance: Strict adherence to data protection requirements, particularly when taking photos. The privacy of participants and staff must be protected, for example by focusing images on workpieces or automatically blurring faces.
• Offline Functionality: Reliable content capture even in workshops with unstable Wi-Fi connections, with the option to synchronize data once connectivity is restored.
• Ease of Use: An intuitive, user-friendly interface, ideally with a guided step-by-step workflow (e.g., a wizard-style interface). 

Additional Information
Special attention is given to the target group of young people with autism spectrum disorder or learning disabilities: The program structure must prevent sensory overload and instill confidence in their ability to act.

Challenge Video & Data

Video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Ot_WHxoYN4o

Data: none

Mainfränkische Werkstätten

The challenge: 
How can we develop an intuitive, TEACCH-based Android app that combines daily and weekly planning, providing participants with clear, reliable routines while enabling support staff to manage schedules, appointments, and recurring activities securely and efficiently?

Caritas-Don Bosco GmbH in Würzburg is a non-profit educational organization jointly operated by the German Province of the Salesians of Don Bosco and the Caritas Association of the Diocese of Würzburg. It serves as a regional and supra-regional center for education and vocational training.
Vocational Training Center (BBW) Würzburg

The Vocational Training Center (Berufsbildungswerk, BBW) supports young people with additional learning and support needs as they prepare for working life. Its programs are designed for young people with mental health conditions, autism spectrum conditions, or specific learning support needs. A range of residential options provides personalized educational guidance and everyday support. The overall goal is to help young people develop meaningful career opportunities and personal prospects.

The app is intended for participants at the Vocational Training Center, particularly people on the autism spectrum, with learning disabilities, and/or mental health conditions. It will also be used by members of their rehabilitation and support teams, including vocational trainers, social workers, psychologists, and residential support staff.

For many participants, especially young people on the autism spectrum or those experiencing mental health challenges, transitions between activities, daily routines, and unexpected schedule changes can be particularly stressful. Conventional calendar apps are often too cluttered, text-heavy, and difficult to navigate.
We are looking for an inclusive daily and weekly planning app for Android, based on the TEACCH approach.
The app should offer two separate interfaces:

• Staff/Admin Interface: A management dashboard that allows support staff to create, manage, and assign appointments and predefined routine modules, such as a structured training day with breaks or residential routines including study time and dinner. Plans should be synchronized with participants' devices via the internet.
• Participant Interface: A highly simplified, visually clear, and accessible interface with automatic reminders, helping participants feel more confident, stay organized, and navigate their daily routines independently.

The Goal
The goal is to develop a practical prototype of an Android app with a role-based architecture (Staff/Admin vs. Participant) that helps structure everyday life across both the Vocational Training Center and its residential facilities.
The solution should ideally address the following areas:

• TEACCH-Based Visual Planning: Provide clear, easy-to-understand daily and weekly overviews using strong visual contrast, color coding, symbols, and pictograms, with minimal distractions.
• Two Separate User Interfaces:
  Staff/Admin Mode: Allow authorized staff to create, manage, and assign individual schedules to participants remotely via the internet.
  Participant Mode: Offer a highly simplified, accessible interface that prevents accidental changes to important information.
• Predefined Routine Modules: Enable staff to quickly add standardized routines, such as a structured training day with breaks or a residential schedule including study time, leisure activities, and dinner. 
• Photo and Media Integration: Link appointments and activities to relevant images, such as photos of support staff, rooms, or workplaces, while maintaining the organization's corporate design
• Automatic Reminders: Provide reliable notifications at times predefined by either support staff or participants.
• Error-Proof App Design: Create an intuitive interface that minimizes the risk of accidental changes, deleted appointments, or incorrect操作操作操作. Participants should be able to use the app confidently without unintentionally modifying important schedules.
• Optional Personal Appointments: Ideally, participants should also have the option to add their own private appointments to their daily and weekly planner.

Potential Use of AI
AI could help turn individual everyday tasks into structured routines that can be added directly to daily or weekly schedules. For example, a participant could enter a list of morning activities, such as getting up, washing, getting dressed, and having breakfast.

Based on these activities, the AI could suggest a structured morning routine, including an appropriate sequence and estimated time for each task. Participants or support staff could then review and adjust the suggested routine to match individual needs and preferences, such as allowing more time for certain activities.

Specific Requirements

• GDPR Compliance and Data Security: Ensure high standards of protection for sensitive personal information, including support-related data and individual schedules. All data transmitted between staff and participants must be encrypted using TLS/HTTPS.
• Protection Against Unauthorized Changes: Participants should be able to view and mark appointments or activities as completed, while administrative changes to assigned schedules must remain restricted to authorized staff.

Additional Information
The planning app should seamlessly connect vocational training activities at BBW with everyday life in the residential facilities.
The overall aim is to provide participants with consistent guidance and structure across different parts of their day, helping them build confidence, manage daily routines, and achieve the greatest possible level of independence. 

Challenge Video & Data

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br5f1GpXtxc 

Data: none

THWS Fit4Germany

The challenge:
Feedback from satisfaction surveys, student counselling and our own programmes shows that many international students would like more support in making contact with German students and settling into a new environment. During the first semester in particular, there is a lack of low-threshold formats that actively bring people together. The real bottleneck, however, is the German side: German students usually already have a social circle and no obvious reason to take part. Without them, no matching can work. We are therefore looking for a format that appeals to both sides and does not feel like volunteering.

The goal: 
We want to bring international and German students together over lunch, in groups of four. What we are looking for is a simple digital matching structure, based on language preference, subject and campus, shared interests, and available time slots. How this is collected is deliberately open; playful approaches are welcome. Signing up should feel easy. Success means a balanced ratio of international and German sign-ups, people actually showing up and coming back, and contacts that last beyond the meal.

Specific Requirements
Solution must be usable at a Bavarian university, DSGVO-compliant. It should be free of licence costs or low-cost to implement and easy to maintain without major technical effort. Equally important is a low-threshold sign-up: few details, a few minutes, and no hurdles such as lengthy registration or app installation.

Challenge Video + Data

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLNt_KT6Kww