Hack4Change 2025: DCU Students Tackle Circular Economy Challenges in Hackathon

More than 800 first-year students took part in Hack4Change 2025, a three-day social innovation hackathon hosted by Dublin City University from March 24th to 26th. The event brought together students, industry speakers, and sustainability mentors to develop creative solutions to real-world challenges linked to the circular economy.

Run as part of the Learning Innovation for Enterprise (LIFE) module, the hackathon involved students from DCU Business School and the Climate and Environmental Sustainability Futures programme. Across six sessions held in the U Building on the Glasnevin campus, students worked in teams to identify issues, generate ideas, and propose actionable responses to sustainability problems affecting businesses and communities.

This year’s hackathon was the first major initiative supported by the new €1 million DCU–Deloitte alliance, announced in January 2025. The five-year partnership aims to boost educational innovation through hands-on learning, industry mentoring, and prize sponsorship. Deloitte’s backing strengthens Hack4Change as a key platform for student creativity and real-world problem-solving.

Circular thinking in practice
Students were presented with their sustainability challenge topics on the day and were tasked with coming up with innovative responses on the spot. Working under time pressure, they used structured ideation methods and completed Hack Impact Canvases to shape and refine their proposals. The canvas helped teams link their ideas to practical outcomes, highlighting potential environmental and social impact.

Each session began with a series of lightning talks delivered by 14 invited speakers representing Irish social enterprises and environmental organisations, including:

The Irish Social Enterprise Network https://www.socent.ie/

Supported by experts and mentors
The hackathon was supported by over 50 mentors, who worked closely with student teams, offering insights, feedback, and practical advice to help shape their proposals.

The event was made possible through the efforts of DCU staff and collaborators, led by Dr. Colette Real and Dr. Catherine Faherty, supported by a dedicated team of teaching assistants who supported sessions throughout the week.

From concepts to content
To communicate their ideas beyond the classroom, students created Instagram posts that summarised their sustainability challenges and solutions. The goal was to develop messages that would resonate with a wider audience — and the numbers suggest they succeeded:

80+ posts and 75+ stories were shared to the @dcuhack4change2025 Instagram account

The content reached over 2,500 unique accounts

Posts generated hundreds of engagements through likes, shares, and comments

These posts became part of the evaluation process, with teams rewarded not only for strong ideas, but also for creativity and reach.

Recognition and rewards

At the end of each session, standout student teams were recognised with vouchers and goodie bags sponsored by Deloitte. Pizza was provided for students at the end of each session.

Huge thanks to all those who made it happen!

Find out more about the LIFE module here: