HACK-4-SAGES Digital Twins in Astrobiology Hackathon

HACK-4-SAGES is an interdisciplinary hybrid hackathon focused on solving real scientific challenges in astrobiology using digital twin approaches to study problems in astrobiology, including origins of life, biosignatures, and exoplanet habitability. The event brings together undergraduate student teams to develop innovative projects within tight timelines. Winning teams are invited to present their project at a follow-up early career astrobiology academic workshop in Switzerland (beginning of September 2026) and receive continued mentoring from researchers in the field.

Participants will: 

• Apply digital twin concepts to real scientific problems in astrobiology. 
• Collaborate in multidisciplinary teams under time constraints. 
• Strengthen skills in project design, problem framing, and scientific communication. 
• Gain exposure to domain experts and mentorship. 
• Experience virtual and hybrid teamwork.

• Current enrolled as a Bachelor’s/undergraduate student. 
• English language proficiency. 
• No required prior experience in astrobiology or programming (advantages but not mandatory).

• Pre-hackathon phase (online): proposal submissions, info sessions, workshops (e.g., design thinking). 
• Team selection: up to 60 teams, 20 per category, chosen based on project proposals. 
• Main Hackathon (9–13 March 2026): 4–5 days of intensive teamwork with mentoring. 
• Final judging & awards.

• Organized by an academic team led by ETH Zurich, with our ENHANCE partners WUT and Gdànsk Tech, and Non-ENHANCE partners from around the world. 
• Structured selection process based on project feasibility and innovation. 
• Mentorship throughout the hackathon. 
• Projects are evaluated by a jury.

HACK-4-SAGES – Digital Twins in Astrobiology Hackathon

• Projects are evaluated by judges on criteria like scientific relevance, innovation, feasibility, and use of digital twin methodology. 
• Award is given per each of the 3 categories; the top 3 teams receive presentation opportunities and mentorship.

1. Form a team of 2–4 undergraduate students. 
2. Choose one of the three challenge categories. 
3. Submit a project proposal by the deadline (23 Feb 2026 23:59 CET). 
4. A team representative fills out the registration form. 
5. Wait for selection notification (end of Feb 2026).

HACK-4-SAGES – Digital Twins in Astrobiology Hackathon

Hybrid format: Participate online or in person at one of multiple hosting institutions worldwide, including ETH Zurich (Switzerland), Warsaw University of Technology (Poland), and Gdańsk University of Technology (Poland). Co-hosts are: University of Amsterdam (Netherlands), Institute of Science Tokyo (Japan), University of Wisconsin–Madison (USA), University of Florida (USA), University of Porto (Portugal), Sofia University (Bulgaria) and Queensland University of Technology (Australia), Lublin University of Technology (Poland), University of Malta (Malta), National Cheng Kung University (Taiwan).

Accepted students will be contacted by the local (co-host) partner to get information about access hours and on-site working arrangements.

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