Call for application for the 6th edition of the seizmic hackathon "Rethinking Food Systems in the Anthropocene"

The University of Naples “Federico II” will host the 6th edition of the seizmic Hackathon “Re-thinking Food Systems in the Anthropocene”, one of the most established initiatives of the hub Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation of the Aurora Network. 

The program will be hosted in English and in blended format: the first online activity will be held on October 1st 2026, meanwhile from the 19th to the 23rd, 2026, in presence activities will take place. 

The initiative is open to bachelor, masters and PhD students coming from the Aurora network universities, the limit is set to 5 students coming from each university. Participation will allow students to earn 3 ECTS credits.

Rethinking Food Systems in the Anthropocene

Environmental phenomena associated with the Anthropocene are already transforming food production, distribution, and consumption on a global scale. In parallel, the food economy is undergoing profound shifts: on the one hand, business models focused on social and environmental sustainability are gaining momentum; on the other, digital technologies, e-commerce, and delivery apps are deeply altering both production and supply chains. At the same time, there is growing interest in traditional foods and artisanal production, valued not only for their quality but also for their cultural and identity significance. Food and culinary practices represent a true political space, shaped by social and class issues, claims for women’s emancipation, and the persistent legacies of colonialism.

In light of this, during the hackathon, participants will work in transdisciplinary teams to develop systemic design proposals aimed at rethinking one or more stages of the food system (production, processing, preparation, distribution, and consumption). The goal is to formulate solutions that ensure social equity, environmental sustainability, and economic viability, fully integrating these essential political dimensions.

The objective of this educational initiative is to provide participants with a design-based learning experience aimed at addressing some of the defining challenges of our time: climate change, the exploitation of labor and land by global agribusiness, and escalating socio-economic inequalities. To this end, participants will be encouraged to tackle these issues by adopting a radically transdisciplinary perspective, drawing on fields such as social entrepreneurship, design for social innovation, agroecology, and the circular economy.

Application procedure

Each university takes care of the application, selection and nomination of max 5 students (with internal deadlines for the application). Each university will send to aurora.seizmic.hackathon@gmail.com the list of nominated students by September 14, 2026 (nomination deadline). Each university will send the grant application information to the selected students and rejection letters to unselected students. Interested students should reach their Mobility Office as soon as possible to apply for this opportunity.

More information:

Flyer:

The Aurora Team