2nd edition of the German-Brazilian EdTech Hackathon awards facilitating app that facilitates learning of sign languages
On 25 and 27 May, the second edition of the German-Brazilian EdTech Hackathon - Digital Education took place at the Goethe-Institut in São Paulo. Open to a plurality of participants, the event brought together developers, designers, programmers, students, educators, teachers and public policy managers from nine Brazilian states, all aiming to find and propose technological solutions to current challenges in digital education with the help of mentors from German and Brazilian institutions. The hackathon was conceived and organized by the Brazil Centre and re:edu, a spin-off of the Institute for Geoinformatics at the University of Münster, in collaboration with the liaison offices of the Freie Universität Berlin and the Technical University of Munich, with the support of the German Centre for Research and Innovation São Paulo (DWIH-SP). The 36 participants were selected among more than 200 applicants from all regions of Brazil, demonstrating a high demand and interest in events of this format and building on the success of the first edition in 2022.
On the very first day, the participants had the opportunity to attend preparatory workshops offered by the mentors on various topics such as design, hardware and prototyping, user experience and app development. Seven groups were then formed, each addressing a challenge according to their personal skills and interests. After three days of intense work, a jury composed of representatives from DWIH-SP, the Goethe-Institut, the Institute of Advanced Studies at USP and the São Paulo Municipal Education Department evaluated each group's presentation and the solutions to their challenges. The big winner was an innovative application project, called SignLink, which enables the teaching of sign language from different countries in a collaborative environment.
"We chose the topic of virtual sign language teaching-learning as well as facilitating international mobility for deaf students. The topics arose as we noticed the lack of accessibility of foreign sign language materials for international students. For example, to learn that German sign language Libras speakers have to understand German, which highlights the lack of an interface for learning sign language", says Pedro Kenzo Muramatsu Carmo, a computer science student at the University of São Paulo (USP) and one of the team members who developed SignLink.
Surprise
O grupo vencedor recebeu bolsas de estudo parciais do Goethe-Institut e um prêmio surpresa: um auxílio-viagem no valor de € 2.000, para auxiliar os custos de viagem para a Alemanha a fim de proporcionar encontros com representantes das agências de inovação e centros de startups das universidades organizadoras do evento, como o REACH, da Universidade de Münster, de modo que a equipe vencedora possa receber orientação e aprimorar seu projeto. “A mentoria dos representantes das três universidades de referência na Alemanha, a comida maravilhosa, as instalações do Goethe e a energia positiva da organização: tudo isso nos deu energia para entregar uma solução de EdTech, uma mistura de Alemanha e Brasil”, continua o estudante.
The second place went to the HomeoPATH team, which proposed the creation of "knowledge pill" content for public transport passengers to learn some relevant content about digital education during their trips.
"The idea is to present small doses of knowledge to this public, in order to engage them in the computational thought process in everyday life”. The project 'HomeoPATH', a pun on homeopathy and path, was the first step", explains José Rodolfo Beluzo, PhD candidate at the School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities at USP and one of the group members.
The third place went to T@TI - Talk About It, which proposed a multimedia platform to combat and raise awareness about bullying in schools.
The final event with the presentation of the projects and the jury's decision is available on YouTube.