What is a Hackathon?
A hackathon is an intensive, time‑bound collaborative event where participants form teams to solve real challenges, often within a few hours or days. It combines creativity, problem‑solving, and teamwork to generate innovative solutions under pressure.
What Happens When Students Collaborate with
Startups in Monaco’s Innovation Ecosystem?
When students from diverse academic and cultural backgrounds collaborate with startups, they co‑create ideas, challenge assumptions, and design solutions with tangible impact. This was the spirit behind a recent initiative that brought together 87 IUM students and four MonacoTech startups to tackle concrete, real‑world business challenges.
A Challenge‑Based Learning Experience
The initiative was designed to replicate the intensity of a consulting mission. Students were organized into multidisciplinary teams, each composed of more than 3 members, and asked to respond to strategic questions posed directly by startups.
- Timeframe: 4 hours of collaborative work
- Deliverables: 5 minutes of presentation followed by 5 minutes of Q&A
This format required students to adopt a professional mindset from the very beginning. Acting as consultants, each team had to:
- Analyze the startup’s positioning and needs
- Structure a strategic response
- Propose actionable, impact‑driven solutions
By framing their challenges as if addressing an external consulting agency, startups pushed students to think critically and deliver professional‑level outputs under time pressure.
Cross-Program Collaboration
The initiative mobilized students from three flagship MSc programs at IUM:
- MSc in Sustainability & Innovation Management
- MSc in Luxury Management – Entrepreneurship Class
- MSc in International Management
This cross-program collaboration enriched the exercise by combining different perspectives. Sustainability experts, luxury management specialists, and international business students worked side by side, bringing complementary skills to the table. The diversity of backgrounds mirrored the multidisciplinary nature of real consulting teams and encouraged students to learn from one another.
The Startup Challengers
Students worked closely with four innovative startups incubated at MonacoTech:
- Skeal
- Nova AI
- NeoMove
- Altores
Each startup presented a unique challenge, exposing students to different sectors and technologies. This variety allowed them to explore multiple impact dimensions — from artificial intelligence to sustainable mobility — while responding to genuine entrepreneurial needs.
Impact Beyond the Classroom
This initiative demonstrated the value of challenge‑based learning:
- For startups, it provided fresh perspectives and creative energy from motivated young professionals.
- For Monaco’s innovation ecosystem, it reinforced the bridge between academia and entrepreneurship, showcasing how collaboration can generate tangible impact.
- For students, it was an opportunity to experience the dynamics of consulting missions, sharpen analytical skills, and deliver solutions under real constraints.
By connecting students with startups, IUM and MonacoTech created a collaborative platform where academic knowledge meets entrepreneurial reality. The result?
Ideas with impact, solutions with relevance, and experiences with lasting value.
For more information about our study programs, check our website
If you have any questions, contact the admissions team at admissions@monaco.edu
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