Danobatgroup puts the creativity and innovation of young talent to the test in a Hackathon

•  Yesterday, Industrial Engineering Masters students from Tecnun took part in the challenge organised by the industrial group at the facilities of its research partner, IDEKO.

• The winning team received a trip to Frankfurt as a prize, where they will have the opportunity to visit the subsidiaries of the Danobatgroup companies Danobat-Overbeck and Bimatec Soraluce.

• The initiative comes within the framework of the agreement between the group and the Engineering School of the University of Navarra for strengthening the link between the academic and professional areas.

In its firm commitment to connect the academic sphere with professional reality, the Danobatgroup industrial group organised a hackathon yesterday with the Industrial Engineering Masters students from Tecnun, the Engineering School of the University of Navarra, to put the creativity, innovation and teamwork of the sector's future professionals to the test.

53 students divided into 11 teams took part in the activity, with the aim of resolving a technical challenge at the facilities of the research partner of the group, IDEKO. 

For 90 minutes, the teams worked on coming up with possible improvements in the design of a machine-tool in order to optimise its performance. The challenge combined the technical analysis with the resolution of practical and technical problems, which offered the young students the chance to apply their knowledge acquired in the classroom, while putting their creativity to the test.  

The team formed by Kimetz Burutaran, Ainoa Goñi, Iker Elizetxea, Alexander Pardo and Daniel Cornejo presented the winning proposal. As a prize, they will enjoy a trip to Frankfurt to visit the Danobat-Overbeck and Bimatec Soraluce plants, subsidiaries in Germany of the cooperatives of the group Danobat and Soraluce respectively. During their visit, they will gain detailed insights into the industrial environment and experience the day-to-day operations of the local teams within the group in this country.

The challenge concluded with visits to the facilities of the IDEKO research centre and the Danobat cooperative. 

A new format 

The introduction of the hackathon format is a new feature with respect to the previous editions of these awards. It aligns with the ongoing agreement between the industrial group and Tecnun running since 2015, which aims to strengthen connections between academia and industry.

In contrast to other traditional challenges, where the evaluation falls solely on the teaching staff, on this occasion a more dynamic and interactive experience was chosen. The students had full freedom to develop their proposals and present them in the way that they considered most suitable, which allowed them to develop their creativity, self-reliance and teamwork.

Furthermore, as part of this new dynamic, the students also evaluated the presentations by applying the same quality criteria applied by the teaching people. Thus, the final evaluation was shared, with 50% of the mark determined by the teaching staff and the other 50% by the students.

About Danobatgroup

With a track record of 70 years in the field of technologies applied to industrial manufacturing, Danobatgroup has a workforce made up of more than 1400 highly qualified people and a turnover of €337 million. The group is an international benchmark in the machine tool sector and technologies applied to industrial manufacturing.

About Tecnun

Tecnun - Engineering School of the University of Navarra in San Sebastian contributes to the professional, scientific and human training of future engineers. Since its creation in 1961, it has maintained a balance between teaching, research and service to society, and encourages these activities to complement each other.