As part of the collaboration between Dominika Verešová, PhD student at the Department of Urban and Spatial Planning, and Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, the Urban Hackathon for Student Campus Spaces (UH4SCS) project is currently underway at the Faculty of Architecture of the Silesian University of Technology. The project is being implemented under the V4 Gen Mini-Grants program. The event brings together students and PhD candidates from three universities: Silesian University of Technology (Gliwice, Poland), V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (Kharkiv, Ukraine), and Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (Kyiv, Ukraine). Participants are taking part in lectures and discussions, and above all, in a 48-hour Urban Hackathon, the aim of which is to develop a concept for the revitalization of student spaces damaged by war on the Kharkiv campus. During the first days of the event, events such as: Introductory lectures on the transformation of the Silesian University of Technology campus, neurourbanism, and a lecture on university spaces during wartime.

The 48-hour Urban Hackathon is a unique educational experience in which interdisciplinary teams of students combine knowledge in urban planning, geography, architecture, and spatial planning to collaboratively search for solutions for the future of academic spaces. The project demonstrates that science, education, and international cooperation can be a driving force in rebuilding and creating crisis-resistant academic spaces. The project will result in project posters and short presentations from the teams, which will be presented at an exhibition from September 19th to 26th in the X Architektury building (ul. Strzody 10). The best concepts will be awarded by a jury of scientists and project supervisors.

The project coordinator is Dr. Hab. Eng. Arch. Alina Pancewicz, professor at the Silesian University of Technology, and the event is co-organized by PhD students from the Department of Urban Planning and Spatial Planning, M.Sc. Eng. Arch. Dominika Verešová, M.Eng. Arch. Agata Goleśna, and M.Eng. Samira Sadipishkama.

The UH4SCS project also marks the beginning of a long-term collaboration, as the universities plan to continue their joint activities under the Project-Based Learning (PBL) program in the winter semester of 2025/2026.