The Czech-Spanish HackaTEEN Has Its Winners! 

Barcelona, 5 November 2026 – What would cities look like if children had a say in their development? The answer was offered by the international Spanish-Czech Challenge HackaTEEN 2026, held as part of the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona. Students aged 12 to 18 presented their own solutions to the problems of cities and municipalities. The three best projects were selected by an international jury of experts in public administration, innovation and technology.

Thirteen teams of young innovators from the Czech Republic and Spain came to Barcelona. Five Czech teams earned their place at the national round, URBIS Challenge HackaTEEN 2026, held in Brno in June. In the international competition, they were joined by eight Spanish teams. Together they searched for answers to questions such as who today’s cities overlook, whether they are ready for the future, and what could work in them in a smarter and simpler way.

After seven hours of intensive work, all 13 teams presented their projects to the expert jury, which selected ten finalists. The finalists then presented their proposals to an international audience directly on the stage of the Smart City Expo World Congress.

First place went to the Spanish team EcoGlide Hub from the Sagrada Família school in Gavà, with a proposal for photovoltaic pergolas that would help cool public spaces. The project responds to the lack of greenery and the overheating of city streets, especially in places where trees cannot be planted because of existing buildings.

Second place was won by the Czech team GridMinds from the Radlická Secondary School of Industrial Engineering, Grammar School and Hotel School in Prague-Smíchov, with the Clear Path app, which makes travel easier for people with disabilities. The students were inspired by the personal experience of their friend Kryštof, for whom planning everyday journeys is complicated and time-consuming.

Third place went to the Czech team Krumlov Brains from the Český Krumlov Grammar School with the WODA project, which aims to help municipalities better cope with drought and manage water. The students pointed out that the problem is often not a lack of information, but its fragmentation across different institutions. They therefore proposed a digital platform that connects key data, clear maps and contacts for experts.

In addition to the three main awards, the Most Likeable Team Award was also presented, with the winner decided by the participants themselves. It went to the Czech team Bystrcká elita from the Brno-Bystrc Grammar School, with a project focused on using biological waste from supermarkets to produce energy.

Visitors to the fair could also choose their favourite through voting for the HackaTEEN Public Choice Award. A total of 680 visitors took part in the vote, and the award went to the Spanish team Gabrielistes from Col·legi Sant Gabriel in Sant Adrià, with a proposal to turn ordinary bus stops into climate shelters that would protect passengers from extreme heat.

In addition to the three main awards, the Most Likeable Team Award was also presented, with the winner decided by the participants themselves. It went to the Czech team Bystrcká elita from the Brno-Bystrc Grammar School, with a project focused on using biological waste from supermarkets to produce energy.

Visitors to the fair could also choose their favourite through voting for the HackaTEEN Public Choice Award. A total of 680 visitors took part in the vote, and the award went to the Spanish team Gabrielistes from Col·legi Sant Gabriel in Sant Adrià, with a proposal to turn ordinary bus stops into climate shelters that would protect passengers from extreme heat.

HackaTEEN is a competition for primary and secondary school students in which children and young people come up with their own ideas for improving life in cities and municipalities. It gives them the opportunity to propose changes in the places where they live and to draw attention to problems that adults often overlook. In the process, they learn not only to think about the needs of their surroundings, but also to find feasible solutions, collaborate and defend their proposals before experts.

The organiser is the South Moravian Agency for Public Innovation (JINAG), in cooperation with Fira Barcelona. “Children and young people are everyday users of our cities, yet they are rarely included in decisions about their form. HackaTEEN gives them space to show what they would change and how. It is important to us that the competition does not end with the awards ceremony. We want to connect their ideas with local governments, companies and other partners so that they can truly change their cities,” says Dagmar Peřinová, Director of JINAG, author of the HackaTEEN competition and co-patron of the Czech delegation at the fair.

“I am delighted that the memorandum between BVV and Fira Barcelona has been turned into this unique Czech-Spanish initiative, which gives children the opportunity to come up with their own ideas for improving life in cities in an active and playful way, while showing them that they too are important actors who can shape the future,” added Marek Zmrzlík from the CzechBusiness agency, which is a partner of the event.

Including HackaTEEN in the programme of the Smart City Expo World Congress allowed young innovators to present their proposals directly to an international community of experts, city representatives, companies and institutions involved in smart city development. Their involvement may be decisive in whether the students’ proposals can be put into practice.

One of the partners of the competition is also the South Moravian Region, which has long supported the involvement of young people in regional development. “Children can name problems that we adults sometimes do not see. If we want young people to take an interest in what is happening in their municipalities, we must show them that we take their ideas seriously and that they have a chance to see them realised,” says Marek Sovka, Deputy Governor of the South Moravian Region for Regional Development, who presented one of the awards.

The Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Spain, Libor Sečka, who granted patronage to the Czech participation, said: “I am glad that Czech and Spanish teams could present their ideas in Barcelona, where the future of cities is being discussed right now. This competition proves that innovation is not only the domain of experts and companies, but that valuable input also comes from the younger generation. Supporting such initiatives also contributes to the development of Czech-Spanish relations and creates space for future cooperation in innovation, technology and education.”

The competition does not end with the awards ceremony, however. JINAG wants to continue working with the ideas of the young innovators and to look for opportunities to connect them with local governments and partners who can help bring them to life. You can view all the competition projects at www.hackateen.eu/en/teams-barcelona

The event is implemented under project No. 2026-1-CZ01-KA210-YOU-000469341, application No. KA210-YOU-0EEE7DD5, SCEWC Challenge HackaTEEN 2026–2027: An International Format for Youth Participation in Smart Cities, under the Erasmus+ Small-scale Partnerships in the Field of Youth programme. Funded by the European Union.

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Czech National Agency for International Education and Research [Dům zahraniční spolupráce]. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Media contact
Zuzana Novotná
Marketing and PR Manager, JINAG
+420 608 959 044
zuzana.novotna@jinag.eu