Object, Criteria, and Deliverables of Sample 5 (Source: https://www.hack4sdg.com/)

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Title: GenAI Hackathon for SDGs

Pedagogy: Hackathon competition

Background

Hackathon competition is to encourage the application and entrepreneurship of multimodal GenAI technologies towards socially beneficial purposes and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

Objectives

·       Encourage capacity building for the responsible and ethical use of AI through creating real-world innovations towards social impact.

·       Foster students’ 21-st century competencies, including communication, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and citizenship.

·       Offer opportunities for multidisciplinary student networking and friendships within and across Hong Kong universities.

·       Promote a platform for education, entrepreneurship, mentorship, and start-up incubation towards a social innovation ecosystem.

Criteria

| Convincing framing of problem (20%) | Teams need to demonstrate that the problem is specific and well-defined, with evidence or research supporting its importance. ·       Is the specific social issue and pain point clearly defined? ·       What evidence or research demonstrates this problem’s significance and scope? ·       Who are the stakeholders affected by this problem, and how? ·       What existing solutions have been attempted and why have they been ineffective? ·       Does the project address the root causes rather than just symptoms? ·       Why does this problem deserve attention now? | | --- | --- | | Prototype/demo (20%) | Team must demonstrate a functional prototype or demo illustrating the proposed solution in action. ·       Does the demo effectively showcase the solution’s core functionality? ·       How complete is the prototype (what works vs. what’s simulated)? ·       Can the prototype handle realistic test cases? ·       How intuitive is the user interface/experience? ·       Has the prototype been tested with potential users? | | Appropriate technical component (20%) | Teams must show that GenAI technology is effectively and appropriately used for the problem. ·       How specifically does the solution leverage GenAI capabilities? ·       Why is GenAI particularly suited for addressing this problem? ·       Which specific GenAI models or techniques are being implemented? ·       How does this approach improve upon non-AI alternatives? ·       What technical limitations exist, and how have they been addressed? ·       How efficiently does the implementation use computational resources? | | Feasibility and impact (20%) | Teams must convincing argue that the solution is realistic to implement and likely to make a meaningful social impact. ·       What is the business model ·       Is the solution practically implementable given real-world constraints? ·       How will target users access and adopt the solution? ·       What metrics will measure impact? ·       What is the potential scale of impact (number of beneficiaries)? ·       What implementation challenges are anticipated? ·       Has the team developed a realistic timeline for deployment? | | Sustainability and ethics (20%) | Teams must show the solution is designed for long-term sustainability and state its ethical implications. ·       Does the business model or plan support this solution long-term. ·       Is the solution scalable, adaptable, or has potential for integration with existing systems or processes  ·       How will this project be financially sustained? ·       What potential ethical concerns (e.g. bias, privacy, and accessibility, unintended consequences) exist with this GenAI implementation? ·       How has feedback from affected communities been incorporated? ·       Does the solution empower users rather than creating dependencies? |

Deliverables

• Interim Reporting: Progress report clarifying the scope of your team’s social problem and the preliminary idea to be developed.
• Pitch Deck and Prototype Demo: Submission of pitch deck and any prototype demo (videos, application, technical links or files). Your pitch deck may include any relevant appendices. During the final presentation, you will have 5 minutes to pitch, followed by 5 – 7 minutes of Q&A. We will preload the pitch deck that you have submitted. </aside>

Implication:

Based on the findings from Law et al. (2025), this GenAI Hackathon represents a best practice in pedagogical design because it effectively leverages GenAI as a transformative tool within an authentic, collaborative learning environment. By structuring the circumstance around a hackathon focused on real-world challenges, the design moves beyond theoretical AI literacy to immerse students in practical human-human and human-AI collaboration. Crucially, the approach democratizes digital solution-building; it empowers students of varying technical backgrounds by allowing them to use GenAI as a coach, collaborator, and productivity booster, thereby lowering barriers to creative problem-solving and privileging diverse perspectives over pure technical expertise. The success of interdisciplinary teams further demonstrates that the model effectively cultivates the hybrid intelligence and collaborative competences critical for the future workforce. Ultimately, this pedagogical design excels because it contextualizes the development of AI and digital literacy within a meaningful, challenge-based scenario, fostering a holistic and deeply integrated learning experience.

Sources:

GenAI Hackathon for SDGs. (2025). Retrieved from: https://www.hack4sdg.com/

Law, N., Wang, N., Ma, M., Liu, Z., Lei, L., Feng, S., Hu, X., & Tsao, J. (2025). The role of generative AI in collaborative problem‐solving of authentic challenges. British Journal of Educational Technology. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.70010

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