What is the MAKEathon?
The MAKEathon is a two-day innovation event at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, where motivated students from the fields of engineering, design, and business transform real company challenges into functional AI prototypes. Machine learning, generative AI, and knowledge engineering are used in the process. You bring the challenge – the teams develop the solution.
Submit your business challenge now and drive your company forward with AI.
Is your company facing the challenge of using artificial intelligence in a targeted and effective way? You have data, business rules, or valuable expertise – but no clear path to turn them into concrete AI solutions yet? Then MAKEathon 2025 is exactly the right platform for you!
Event details
MAKEathon
- When: October 25–26, 2025
- Where: University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Von Rollstrasse 10, 4600 Olten
- Your role: Submit a challenge and be present on-site with an expert
Why your company should participate:
As part of the event, you’ll receive fresh ideas, creative approaches, and initial prototypes – developed by committed young talents who view your challenge with fresh perspectives.
If one or more of the following points apply to your company, participation is especially worthwhile:
- You have data but don’t know how to use it effectively.
- You need transparent, explainable AI solutions for sensitive business areas.
- You want to structure internal expert knowledge and make it usable for AI.
- You operate in a regulated environment with high compliance requirements.
- You’re considering how AI agents can support business processes.
Your availability on the event weekend:
- One person from your team to present the challenge in 5 minutes at FHNW on Saturday morning, October 25, 2025
- Participation in the final presentation on-site on Sunday, October 26, 2025
- A dataset or suitable documentation by September 15, 2025, so the teams can work with real input
- Optional: An NDA for the students
Submit your business challenge – what we need from you:
Below you’ll find a more detailed description of the information you should enter in the form below, so you know exactly what we need from you.
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Title of your challenge
First, give your challenge a title that captures the core of the problem, such as “AI-powered defect detection in production.”
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Description of the problem
Briefly describe the problem you want to solve and why it matters, for example: “Manual quality control is too slow and error-prone.”
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Objective of the challenge
Next, define the objective of the challenge: What should the AI solution achieve and what value will it provide? For example, “an AI that automatically detects defects in product images to increase efficiency.”
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Available data and resources
Available data and resources are very important: What data (e.g. datasets, documents) can you provide? For example: “5,000 product images (JPG) labeled as ‘defective’/’non-defective’.”
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Success indicators
Define how you will measure success by specifying success indicators, such as “a detection rate of over 90% and a 20% time saving in the inspection process.”
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Domain expert
Finally, confirm that you will provide a domain expert for the pitch on Saturday and to attend the solution presentations on Sunday.
Do you want to learn more about our AI solutions?
Through clear goal-setting, transparent processes, and close integration of humans and machines, AI can unfold its full potential – and deliver real added value in your company as well.
Submit your AI business challenge now!
Further up on the website, you’ll find a more detailed description of the information you should enter in the form, so you know exactly what we need from you.
We look forward to learning more about your business challenge!