DevFest Linz: Great AI Hackathon

About the event
DevFest is Google’s global developer festival, connecting hundreds of thousands of developers in 100+ countries each year. For the first time ever, Linz joins the global DevFest network with a full day dedicated entirely to AI.

This hackathon brings together AI & CS students, developers, designers, and builders from across Upper Austria to create real, working AI prototypes in a single day. The event is designed to be practical, fast-paced, and community-driven. Hosted at JKU Linz, home to 3,000+ AI students, one of the most significant AI student communities in Europe and organized by Google Developers Group Linz and Young AI Leaders Linz.

✨ What to expect:

Hands-on Hacking: 12 hours of dedicated coding time.

Mentorship: Access to experts and judges from the industry.

Networking: Connect with the best local developers and tech companies.

Swag & Food: Coffee, lunch, and snacks are on us!

Agenda:

Thursday Intro Event Notion Prep Event, Team Matching (Onsite JKU or Online)

Thursday Evening Challenge Announcement Challenges/Track are published, brainstorm, general planning.

08:30 – 09:00: ☕ Registration & Morning Coffee (Lobby)

09:00 – 09:30: 🎤 DevFest Opener: Introduction, Sponsors & Rules (Main Stage)

09:30 – 10:00: 💡 Tech briefing

10:00 – 10:15: 🤝 Team Creation (Find your squad!)

10:15 – 10:30: 🚀 Hackathon Start

10:30 – 13:00: 💻 Coding Session 1 + Mentorship

13:00 – 13:30: 🍕 Lunch Break

13:30 – 17:00: 💻 Coding Session 2 + Mentorship

17:00 🏁 SUBMISSIONS DEADLINE

17:15 – 19:00: 🗣️ Project Presentations (Demo Time)

19:30 – 19:30: ⚖️ Judging & Scoring

19:30 – 20:00: 🏆 Awards Ceremony

20:00 – 20:30: 🎉 Cool down, Afterparty & Networking

Requirements
To qualify for judging at DevFest Linz: Great AI Hackathon, every team must complete two things:

Build a working prototype (What to Build)

Submit all required materials on DevPost by the deadline (What to Submit)

What to Build
Your team must build a functioning AI prototype that fits the hackathon challenges announced during the hackathon. Projects may be built using any tools, but recommended tools include Lovable, n8n, Google Gemini / Vertex AI, Supabase, Pinecone, and ElevenLabs.

Your build must:

Include the core functionality of your idea. It does not need to be perfect, but it must run and demonstrate the key experience.

Be created during the hackathon

Architecture, backend logic, and prep may begin during Build Week (Mon–Fri)

Lovable code and UI must be created on Saturday only

Final integration and polish must happen on Saturday

Be built by your team only: Teams of 3–5 members are permitted. All team members must be registered participants.

What to Submit

All projects must be uploaded to Devpost including the mandatory Deliverables:

Devpost Project Page: Filled with the core info of your project.

PDF Presentation: A wide-format PDF used for your pitch. Must include:

Project Name, Challenge Track, and Team Members' Names. Rules

Architecture Slide: A visual diagram of your software architecture (e.g., "Lovable UI -> Webhook -> n8n -> Vertex AI").

Project Link: Link to code (GitHub) or deployed site.

Demo (Optional): If you have a running demo, feel free to include a QR code on a slide.

The Pitch
You only have 2 min Pitch + 2 min Q&A (Questions from Judges). Make sure you clearly, compactly and convincingly communicate:

What is your Project/Idea? What does it do?

Why is it important? Problems it solves, positive impact

How does it work? Architecture/Tool Visualization, Proof of Concept

Todos

Everything in English

Use your time effectively

Make it interesting, engaging, visually appealing, ...

Connect to real problems, use cases

Utilize unique strengths (e.g. all team members on stage, but you decide who presents/answers what, if you want, a single person can do the pitch)

Not Todos

Introduction of all team members

"My presentation has the chapters ..."

Repeat yourself unnecessarily

Overpromise or Misrepresent what your prototype can actually do (e.g. claiming you built something yourself thats done by an existing API)

Prizes
1st Place: €1,500 💶
2nd Place: €1,000 💶
3rd Place: €500 💶

Agenda

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Panelists

Dino Osmanagic - Incert (Head of Innovation & Product)

Andreas Patuzzi - JKU (AI & Mechatronics Student)

Raphael Suchomel

Tobias Minichshofer

Viktor Loreth

Judges

Vicky Pirker - Vicky Pirker UX Consulting (Strategic Business Consultant)

With a solid blend of expertise, Vicky is a strategic business consultant with over 15 years of experience in IT consulting across global corporations. Her work goes beyond creating digital products💻; she enhances processes and efficiency🚀, making sure businesses and customer experiences are as rewarding as a good morning coffee.

Yaroslav Polyakov - Google (AI/ML)

Mathias Fink - Startups Upper Austria (Innovator & Community Builder)

Gordon Meyer - Dynatrace (Director, AI Product Innovation)

Valentin Hamburger - Google (Product Manager at Google)

Hosted By

Andrii Khrystian, GDG Organizer

AndreI Tazetdinov, co-organizer

Gleb Maliborsky,

I am a professional software engineer focused on mobile apps development. I have a versatile engineering background and 13 years of experience in mobile, web, and ERP systems development.

Vladyslav Kravchenko, Organizer

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Partners

Dynatrace (https://www.dynatrace.com/)
Dynatrace is a world-leading AI-powered observability platform, that enables you to transform complexity into your greatest asset and drive your business forward.

Young AI Leaders Linz (https://youngaileaderslinz.at)

City of Linz (https://www.linz.at)
Linz is the UNESCO City of Media Arts and a driving force for digital innovation in Europe. Through initiatives like "Digital Linz" and the "Innovationshauptplatz," the city actively supports creative technologies, open government data, and future-oriented tech ecosystems.

Johannes Kepler University Linz (https://www.jku.at)
Home to the Linz Institute of Technology (LIT), JKU is a European leader in AI, computer science, and mechatronics. With its Open Innovation Center, the university bridges the gap between academic research and real-world industrial application, fostering a strong ecosystem for tech talent and startups.

Startups Upper Austria (https://startupsupperaustria.at)

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Complete your event RSVP here: https://gdg.community.dev/events/details/google-gdg-linz-presents-devfest-linz-great-ai-hackathon/.