Institute of Science Tokyo and Kyushu Institute of Technology hold joint hackathon

Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo) and Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech) co-hosted a “hackathon” at Hisao & Hiroko Taki Plaza, Ookayama Campus from March 5 to 7, 2025. The event brought together students from both institutes for three days of innovation and collaboration. The joint initiative was launched following the December 2023 signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to promote collaboration in industry-academia partnerships and development of human resources in science and technology.

Student organizations — Taki Plaza Gardener group (Science Tokyo) and KCL (Kyutech Code Lab) — worked together to plan and manage the event, beginning preparations last summer.

The theme of the hackathon, “Cross-Border and Exchange,” highlighted the geographical distance between the two institutes. Participants were tasked with creating products that would promote exchange and connection between the two universities, regardless of physical separation.

A total of 43 students — 22 from Science Tokyo and 21 from Kyutech — formed 12 teams based on their interests. Teams consisted of 3 to 4 members and included both mixed-institute and single-institute groups.

After an ice-breaker to help participants get comfortable, the teams jumped right into their projects. They worked intensively toward a mid-term presentation in the afternoon of the second day, then continued refining their products until the final presentation on the third day. When they encountered challenges, they received valuable guidance from student mentors and representatives from sponsoring companies. Discussions were dynamic and focused, with teams maintaining high levels of energy and concentration.

Both institutes plan to continue holding joint hackathons in the future.

• It was my first hackathon, and I had a very fulfilling time. It was fun to figure out how to generate and implement interesting ideas from a given theme. Thank you!
• This was my first time participating in this event and my first time working on a team to build something — I’d only worked alone before. It was a little daunting at first, but in the end, I developed great friendships and improved both my programming and communication skills.
• I learned how exciting and difficult it is to bring ideas to life within a limited time, and found interacting with Kyutech students both stimulating and inspiring — a valuable experience I’ll carry into the future.
• I’d always been interested in programming and development but hadn’t had the chance to try it, so this hackathon was a good experience for me. Thanks to the help of senior members, I was able to participate with confidence. Thank you.
• The hackathon itself was a good opportunity, but what stood out most was interacting with Kyutech students during the judging period. I don’t often get to present work to people from other universities, so this was a rare and valuable opportunity.

Naoki Nagata (2nd-year undergraduate, Department of Computer Science, School of Computing, Science Tokyo)
I’m thrilled to have won first prize! This wouldn’t have been possible without the active involvement of my teammates and the help of a large language model (LLM). Since we were a hybrid team, we were able to generate unique ideas. I think using the design-thinking framework I learned in class helped turn our creative ideas into a single, well-structured concept.
The theme of “Cross Border and Exchange” inspired me to think about how to connect across physical distance. I figured that if there were a telescope, people would naturally want to peek through it to see another campus. That’s how Linkscope began.
We also explored a technical challenge: capturing 360-degree images affordably. Since a telescope can show a full panoramic view, the camera needed to capture that as well. However, even the cheapest 360-degree cameras cost over 10,000 yen. So instead, we used a fisheye lens attached to a smartphone to shoot distorted images and converted them into panoramic views in real time

Tsuzumi Nakamura (3rd-year undergraduate, Department of Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering, School of Environment and Society, Science Tokyo)
I’m truly delighted that we were able to successfully hold this joint hackathon event between Kyutech and Science Tokyo. This year's theme was “Cross Border and Exchange.” Our goal was to create works that would encourage interaction between the two institutes despite being geographically distant. Each team demonstrated a clear understanding of the theme and used their creativity and technical skills to produce impressive results. It was also memorable to see students engaging across university boundaries, especially during the social gathering.
This was my first time managing an event of this scale, and it came with many challenges. In particular, coordinating with sponsor companies and another university required a lot of preparation and constant trial and error. Working through many conversations with stakeholders from different backgrounds gave me the valuable opportunity to hone my management skills and learn a great deal in the process.
Through this experience, I was reminded of the importance of diverse perspectives and approaches. As a student of the Department of Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering, I hope to continue tackling complex and seemingly unsolvable social issues by taking a cross-disciplinary approach.
Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the sponsors who supported this event, the members of KCL who co-organized it with us, the enthusiastic participants, and everyone who contributed to making this event possible.

*All organization names, job titles, affiliations, and academic years are as of the time of the event.